Emotional value vs investment

What is emotional value versus investment?

It is simply the tension between what you feel for a work and what it means to you as an investment. Art is bought with the heart and the head at once. Emotion — how a painting speaks to you — tends to come first in collecting, but a good choice can be supported by figures and a knowledge of the market.

How does it work?

In practice it is about joining the two. First a work catches you, touches you, and then you check whether a sensible purchase stands behind that feeling: a proven name, an interesting price. Ideally heart and head agree. A work that genuinely speaks to you is easier to hold on to when the market wobbles.

Why does it matter to a collector or investor?

Because emotion alone can lead to a rash purchase, while figures alone can leave you with a painting you do not like living with. Joining the two brings peace of mind: even if the value stalls for a while, you still have something at home that gives you pleasure. And isn't that the best insurance against the market's swings?

What should you watch out for?

The pitfall is letting only one side decide. Buy purely with the heart and you may overpay; buy purely with the head and you can easily end up with a work you feel nothing for and will happily part with at the first difficulty. So it pays to ask both questions: does this speak to me, and does the purchase also make sense on paper?

— Anna Pulkertová, founder of Art Part Club