Lower Priced Works Gain Favor in the Art World

Retired real-estate developer Thomas Wright has a Pablo Picasso in his hallway, a Jasper Johns in the living room and top-notch sculptures all over his San Antonio home. So what's next? A Matisse? A Warhol?

Nope. Try an $800 piece by Dan Sutherland, a professor at the University of Texas who draws female bodies. "You don't always have to pay a lot of money for good art," Mr. Wright says.

Talk about convenient timing. Just as the economy cools, art lovers are talking up a new fad: collecting on the cheap. Whether it's original work by painters no one has ever heard of, B-list works by known artists or stuff picked up at Crate & Barrel, outlet-minded collectors are shopping outside of the box and buying art that might as well hang in a dormitory. Some are even hanging no-name artists cheek by jowl with Monets and van Goghs and dubbing the results a masterpiece of mix and match.

Needless to say, a lot of the art world is horrified. More august collectors hold that you get what you pay for -- especially with art. They add that a lot of bargain hunters are just trying to make cheap look fashionable. "Collections generally need to be put together slowly and include similar works," says Ruth Sackner, a Miami collector. "Some bargains are just ugly."

But don't tell that to Rene di Rosa, a longtime art buyer from San Francisco. The owner of more than 1,800 artworks, including some very pricey ones, Mr. di Rosa says he recently began seeking out more unusual pieces that won't dent his budget. His latest find? An olive can that doubles as a mandolin, made by a local artist. Total cost: $800. From the same gallery, Mr. di Rosa bought an inexpensive 20-foot-tall metal cabinet. Buying art "takes a trained eye," he says. "Most people buy with their ears, not with their eyes."

The Problem with Copycat Art

The cheap-art movement got going last year, when collectors, fed up with high prices and uninspired, copycat art, began seeking out something different to line the walls of their lofts. Instead of just frequenting the big auctions and well-trod galleries in New York and Los Angeles, they started expanding their geography -- visiting dealers in places like Raleigh-Durham, N.C., and Austin, Texas -- checking out hole-in-the-wall galleries in their own cities and even logging on to downscale Web sites or browsing the art at department stores.

Now, these bargain-art buyers feel they've earned bragging rights for discovering and supporting new talent and having works no one else does -- even if they aren't exactly the stuff of highbrow collections. "It's my art," New York collector John Stewart says. "Why should I care if people don't like it?"

But for people on tighter budgets, cheap art has another obvious value: It's cheap. In this tight economy, art prices are stubbornly high. In fact, according to Artfact Inc., an art-sales data service, sales of works valued at less than $2,000 are growing, while sales of stuff that costs more than that are flattening out for the first time in years. Art lovers who stroll through New York's prime Soho art gallery district or Atlanta's Buckhead area can see the movement for themselves: Shops that once wouldn't have dreamed of selling downscale works are now specializing in the $1,000-a-work market. Super pricey art "just isn't selling," Atlanta dealer Mark Karelson says.

Several recent big auctions are a good example of this phenomenon. Last fall, even the richest collectors scaled down, going after relatively cheap artists like Shirin Neshat (known for her feminist Islamic works) and Tom Sachs (guns made out of boxes from luxury stores) whose works, while still pricey, cost a fraction of more established stuff. At the same time, one multimillion dollar Claude Monet was left marooned on the block. Many art world watchers expect much of the same at the sales this spring.

So, what kinds of stuff are these up-and-coming artists putting up on the walls? Everything from wallpaper in a frame to a leggy, resin doll in a French maid's outfit. Then there's Patty Carroll, who's selling color blow-ups of hot-dog stands at Chicago's well-trafficked City Gallery. Even the upscale retailer Barneys, ground zero for fashion lovers, is getting into the act. Last fall, the store filled its Madison Avenue windows with Georgia artist Michael Kalish's two-dimensional, three-foot-tall portraits of the U.S. presidents made from old license plates.

How Low Can a Cheapskate Go?

Other works are taking their cues from art world A-listers. Photographer Malerie Marder does snaps of close friends and family that evoke hotshot contemporary photographer Cindy Sherman. Joel Hotchkiss, from Boston, is doing mobiles out of metal that resemble Alexander Calder's works. In fact, some of these artists are cheap because they're just getting hot; others because they're seen as doing repeats of other artists' work.

High Art, Low Prices

Looking for something to hang next to your favorite Monet? Here are some inexpensive -- relatively speaking, of course -- alternatives to some of the art world's favorites.

ArtistKind of Work/PriceComment
Steve KaufmanColorful silkscreens of Marilyn Monroe and Campbell's soup cans go for around $1,000.Mr. Kaufman is getting his 15 minutes of fame as a dead ringer for Pop master Andy Warhol.
Alexander ChubarBright, abstract paintings in the $2,000 range.Picasso might not have agreed, but some works could pass for the Spanish master.
Pat StrumLascivious flower paintings start about $800.To a novice's eye, these oversize blooms might look like the work of Georgia O'Keeffe. They're not.
Malerie MarderPhotos of friends and family start around $2,000.Option 1: Spend $250,000 for a Cindy Sherman original. Option 2: Try this newcomer who also photographs herself.
Joel HotchkissMetal mobiles start around $300.A cheap man's contemporary sculptor, Mr. Hotchkiss's mobiles dangle metal cutouts.
Oliver BobergLarge-scale architectural photographs start around $1,500.Mr. Boberg's blown-up pix of fake buildings look like Andreas Gursky's, the famed photographer who can command six figures.
David ArsenaultStark oil paintings of houses and commercial buildings cost around $2,000.Some of Mr. Arsenault's paintings could pass for works by Edward Hopper -- just at a thousandth of the price.

Of course, art-world sophisticates say there is a limit to how low cheapskates can go. At some point, what they buy might not even be art. "I wouldn't suggest spending next weekend at a flea market looking for deals," Los Angeles dealer Adlis Browne says.

What's more, these guys are still risking it. Loading up on works that are unknown -- and which may never appreciate or get recognition from the art community -- can wreck the resale value and reputation of even a very good collection. Most consultants recommend piecing a collection together slowly. "It's better to think things through and make sure everything fits" before you buy, collector and UPN network head Dean Valentine says.

Still, Steven Ames has found a way to hedge his bets and his reputation. The New York collector and board member of the Whitney Museum of American Art displays his fancy, brand-name works like Sigmar Polke and Gerhard Richter in his home. The cheaper, cutting-edge stuff he keeps sequestered in his office. That way, he points out, "I can dabble but still make sure my main pieces relate to each other."

Write to Daniel Costello at dan.costello@wsj.com


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