How to Become an Expert Art Dealer

Buying and reselling art can be both an educational and profitable business. One must be knowledgeable about art and current market trends. Many art dealers learn about the business of selling art from buying the type of art they like, and this may not be profitable from a business standpoint if the art they like fails to sell.

Research Art to Sell

Step 1

Research various types of art to know how to properly buy for resale. A person cannot properly sell art if they do not know anything about art. Take an art appraisal course at a local college. Go to the library and look at art books. Observe the types of paint strokes and themes artists used. Go to museums. Classical art would include masterworks, such as Rembrandt. Contemporary art would be anything 20th- or 21st-century; works considered current.

Step 2

Keep tabs on current trends within the art world. Read art magazines and find out about artists who are up and coming. Find the kind of art that is selling by who is popular in the art world at the moment. Pay attention to current market values within the art world on both classic and contemporary art.

Step 3

Buy art directly from the artist. Go to art fairs, shows and sales where artists sell directly to the public. Often art dealers strike up business relationships with individual artists. If artist's works sell on a continual basis, this can be both beneficial to the artist and art dealer.

Step 4

Sell at online auctions. This is the most affordable way to resell art, for online auction listings are generally inexpensive. Purchase a quality digital camera and take close up shots of the art, making sure to show the signature, and various detail. Take measurements of the art piece, and mention any flaws. People buying online want as many details about an art piece as possible, because they are not able to examine the work in person.

Step 5

Go to auctions. There is a great deal of opportunity at auctions to purchase estate quality art at reasonable prices. A dealer of art will need to mark up a piece anywhere from twenty to fifty percent to make a good profit, so keep that in mind when bidding, and never bid over your budget on a piece of art.Open an Art Gallery

Step 1

Open an art gallery and become an art dealer. Offer to commission an artist's work to save on expenses. The gallery owner takes a percentage of sold art, and does not have to go out and buy expensive art for resale.

Step 2

Purchase art at second-hand shops. There are bargains and good art to be found antiquing. This is where knowledge about art comes in handy, for an educated eye can spot a possible valuable or quality artistic piece that someone else might overlook.

Step 3

In thrift stores, paintings are often marked for sale on a general pricing system, which means the possibility of finding a massive bargain is most probable. Try places such as the Goodwill, or any thrift store that sells art.