Does a Painting Have to Be a Good Investment to Be Worth Buying?
Last updated: 31 October 2026
In short: No. Thomas Reinshagen, an art adviser profiled by Spear's, says art is normally underperforming the stock market, is illiquid and pays no dividend. Writing for Volta, Alexandra Steinacker-Clark says dedicated collectors buy with their hearts and treat market value as secondary. A painting can earn its place another way: by what it does in your light, on your wall, for years after the purchase.
What do art advisers say about art as an investment?
Spear's guide to art advisers for high-net-worth clients (published July 2025, updated 22 July 2026) quotes advisers who work with serious collections, and one of them is direct. Thomas Reinshagen argues that art should not be treated as a financial investment from which you expect a return, because “normally art is underperforming the stock market.” His reason is a single word: “art is illiquid,” so a buyer chasing returns would look to real estate or stocks. He adds a plain fact about the object: “Art also doesn't pay any dividend.”
“Illiquid” is the useful word. A share can be sold today at a price on a screen. A painting finds its buyer when one particular person wants it, and no screen announces the number beforehand.
Why do dedicated collectors say they buy with their hearts?
Alexandra Steinacker-Clark, in an essay for the Volta Art Fairs journal, describes what she sees in dedicated collectors: “they buy with their hearts, and the financial considerations - although still taken into account - are secondary.” She does not wave money away. “Art is still an investment, of course: financial, emotional, and intellectual,” she writes, and “The balance lies in understanding that one does not diminish the other.” Her test for the buyer is a calm one: “when you collect authentically, everything else (like a painting's future market value) becomes secondary.”
Does an auction price prove what a painting is worth?
An auction price is a record of one evening. It tells you what the bidders in one room were willing to spend when the hammer fell, and it is a real number with a real date on it. It cannot tell you what the painting will do on your wall, because the evening ended before the painting was ever hung.
The measure at home is slower and never appears on a lot sheet: whether you are still looking on the hundredth day. Eric Landolt, Head of UBS Family Advisory, Art, and Collecting, says in Art Basel's June 2026 guide to starting a collection that collecting asks for time: “You have to spend time to do the research, visit museums, go back to the old exhibition catalogues, and really study.” Time is the common ingredient, whether it goes into research or into the looking.
What makes collecting personal and not only financial?
In the same Art Basel guide, Rachel Peart, Art Advisory Specialist at UBS in the Americas, says, “Collecting is so inherently bespoke and personal.” Carola Wiese, Art Advisory Specialist at UBS in Switzerland, says, “We often say that a niche can be the key to success in collecting.” A first buyer can borrow the idea without the market in mind. Choose a palette, a scale or a painter, and stay with it long enough to learn what you keep returning to.
What does buying from the painter add?
I sell direct, with no gallery representation, and about fifty original paintings are ready to ship at any time. I send multiple pre-ship videos of every finished work, so you can watch how the surface behaves in real light before anything leaves the studio. A painting ships rolled to a framer near you, is stretched on arrival and is hand-delivered ready to hang. If nothing ready-made fits the wall, a commission starts with a conversation: a deposit secures the slot, I paint two finished options at once, and there are two rounds of revisions, about four weeks from deposit to delivery depending on the studio schedule.
How can a first-time buyer judge worth at home?
Use three questions. Does the painting hold your attention on the third viewing, and not only the first? Can the painter tell you how the surface was built? And does it look right in the light of the room where it will hang?
Browse available originals, read how a commission works from conversation to delivery, and learn about the studio. Designers can see the Trade Program.
Frequently asked questions
Is buying art a good investment?
Advisers quoted by Spear's say art normally underperforms the stock market, is illiquid and pays no dividend. A Volta essayist says dedicated collectors buy with their hearts and treat market value as secondary. Many people buy a painting for how it lives with them and regard any later value as a bonus.
What does illiquid mean for art?
Illiquid means an artwork cannot be turned into cash quickly at a known price, the way a share can. Thomas Reinshagen, an adviser profiled by Spear's, says art is illiquid, which is one reason he does not treat it as a financial investment.
Does an auction price show what a painting is worth?
An auction price records what the bidders in one room were willing to pay on one evening. It is a dated data point. A buyer at home can add other measures: whether the painting holds attention, how it was made, and how it looks in the light of the room.
Why buy an original painting directly from the artist?
Buying direct lets you ask how the surface was built, watch multiple pre-ship videos of the finished painting, and start a commission if nothing ready-made fits. The studio ships rolled to a framer near you, stretches the painting on arrival and hand-delivers it ready to hang.