Collecting art affordably

Collecting fine art can be expensive. I've found that there are a few ways to collect in your area of interest but not break the bank. First, identify your area of interest. It might be marine art or natural history art. You might get more specific and collect pieces who's subject is a particular region. For example, I keep an eye out for artwork of the East end of Long Island, NY, particularly Montauk. Watercolors are always more affordable than oil paintings. So you might be able to find a watercolor of a listed artist for a fraction of the cost of an oil by the same person. For example, here is a watercolor that I recently bought on ebay. I'm not sure who the artist is yet, but it is signed and it is from the 19th century and titled "Montauk"

Another affordable way to collect listed artists is to look for pencil-signed prints, particularly engravings or etchings. Again, I was able to purchase an engraving by listed artist Gifford Beal. Beals auction records for oil paintings can reach into the tens of thousands. This pencil signed engraving happens to be of haul-seiners pulling their nets. This is an East-End Long Island subject as well.

Prints such as engravings or etchings can have a historical quality. You might choose 19th century military prints, or perhaps Presidential or American history subjects. An area of interest to me are natural history prints, in particular bird prints. Yes, the Audubon prints out there are probably not accessible to the average collector, but some of the others are, such as this little engraving from The Natural History of Hummingbirds from the 1820's. This is a hand- colored engraving that is over 150 years old, and I paid under $20 for it.

Another tip: look for frames at tag sales and thrift stores, even if you don't like what's inside, you can use the frame when you find that affordable watercolor, signed engraving, or hand-colored print.