The following are tips for making wise art investments:

1. Purchase what you like. 

2. Whenever possible, buy from the artist.

3. If buying from the artist is not practical, then buy from a dealer you know.

4. Always get the artist’s biography.  Update it every two or three years.

5. Whenever possible, BUY ORIGINALS OR COMMISSION THE ARTIST.  In general, these are the works which will have the most substantial increase in value.

6. Buy hand-made prints; they are also originals.  This is called printmaking.  The most used printmaking methods are:

a. Woodcuts and linocuts, sometimes called block prints or relief prints.
b. Etching, also called intaglio.
c. Lithograph, usually producing using a stone or a metal surface. 
    Sometimes called planograph.
d. Stencil prints or screen prints, also called serigraphs.

7. Terms used when discussing hand-made prints and reproductions:

a. L / E = Limited Edition
b. S / N = Signed and Numbered (1 / 250)
c. A / P = Artist Proof

8. Buy L/E S/N (Limited Edition and Signed and Numbered) reproductions. Reproductions are what most people call “prints.”

a. Purchase reproductions only when #5 or #6 above is not in your 
    budget or financial range.
b. Do not make reproductions the core of your art collection.
c. Reproductions will not be exhibited in museums, nor will museums 
    accept reproductions as gifts or donations.
d. Reproductions are produced by a printing company normally with 
    what is termed four color printing, because an original is duplicated 
    using four colors.

Enjoy your art and your collection,
 

James Huff