Art Sourcing

Mintus’ sourcing of art for investment begins with a list of target artists that have been identified based on past performance.

Art Sourcing

There are currently over thirty target artists on our list. This list forms the basis for initial conversations about new offerings on the platform, conducted primarily through the network of strategic relationships Mintus has built with global collectors and advisors. Every potential artwork is then evaluated on its merits as an art investment.

How does Mintus compile its target artist list?

Every art investment offering on the Mintus platform is analysed against the following criteria to assess its strength as an investment proposition:

  • Sustained auction track record
    The artist’s work must have appeared at auction regularly over a prolonged period (ideally 5+ years).  

    Auction track record is an important indicator of an artist’s secondary market. It reflects the ease with which art collectors can sell artworks to willing buyers in the future, as well as potential price points. Auctions are the primary source of art market data as the sole publicly accessible marketplace in the art industry. If an artist is regularly trading at auction over a sustained period, this not only provides numerous data points to analyse the artist’s market performance but displays the strength and longevity of that artist’s market.
  • International appeal
    International appeal is an indicator of the pool of potential buyers across the globe. This is defined by an artist’s appearance in international collections and exhibitions. An artist appearing in major international collections, whether institutional or private, reflects a global appreciation for the artist’s work and a wide collector base for that artist.
  • Price velocity
    Price velocity is a gauge of an artist’s market momentum. Factors that affect an artist’s market momentum include recent auction performance and exhibition history.

    An artist garnering multiple bids at auction and outperforming its estimates will have a positive price velocity, conversely, an artist who is consistently failing to find buyers at auction – irrespective of how established they are – will have a negative price velocity.
  • Exhibition trajectory
    The growth in exhibition appearances for an artist is also indicative of an artist’s market. Increasing frequency – a positive exhibition trajectory – reflects greater cultural interest and market demand.

    The calibre of exhibitions is important too: are the exhibitions solo shows or appearances in group shows? In museums or commercial galleries? Are they happening internationally or locally? Museum exhibitions are an acknowledgement of an artist’s cultural importance, whilst representation at a leading commercial gallery reflects high market demand.

Which artists do Mintus target as potential art investment offerings?

At Mintus, we focus on Post-War & Contemporary Art as it has the highest growth and has the best investment potential. Since 1998, the ArtPrice Contemporary Art Index has grown by over 358% and the ArtPrice Post-War Art Index has grown 267%. Over the same period, the ArtPrice Global Art Index has grown by 18%1.

Learn more about our focus on Contemporary Art as an investment compared to other art periods here. Examples of artists that Mintus are targeting include Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, David Hockney, Yayoi Kusama, and Gerhard Richter. All of these artists have a sustained auction track record and international collector base, marking them out as some of the best contemporary artists to invest in – in our opinion.

Who do we acquire artworks from?

Mintus has developed strategic partnerships with a network of collectors and advisors, which form the primary channel for artwork acquisition. Through this network, Mintus has connections with some of the biggest art collections in the world ($1bn+), which means access to iconic contemporary artworks that are often “fresh to market” – those that haven’t been available on the market publicly recently, or ever. The other benefit of our partnerships is that artworks are available at advantageous pricing; buying from an auction or a gallery often comes with a premium, which can be anything from 20% to 50%.

Mintus does explore other sales channels beyond its network and accepts submissions through the platform here which are reviewed on an ongoing basis.

How do we decide which art to invest in?

Each artwork’s investment potential is evaluated using market comparables and data analysis to understand its current and potential values. The initial market analysis and valuation are conducted internally using our in-house expertise. Once a potential purchase price has been agreed internally that is deemed good value, we consult our network of trusted external specialists for their input on the quality of an artwork, its pricing, and its liquidity. Concurrently, the artwork is independently valued by up to three industry-leading third-party valuation experts to gauge the artwork’s fair market value.

The results of all the analysis are compiled into an investment case and ultimately presented to the Art Investment Committee to make a final decision on whether to proceed with the art investment.

Footnotes
  1. ArtPrice Indices (Contemporary, Post-War, Global), data correct as of 1st October 2022

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