Choosing an Impressive Artwork as a Gift

Few gifts are as unique or as personal as fine art; But how do you select the right piece?

For many of us, art is a personal thing; this makes giving art as a gift a risky decision. Get it wrong, and the piece may be relegated to the attic or under the stairs for the rest of its days. 

However, choose the right artwork for the right person, and it could be one of the most memorable gifts the recipient ever receives. By showing you understand your partner, significant other, or colleague’s tastes in art, you will also be showing just how important they are to you.

Don’t let the fear of making the wrong choice put you off giving art as a gift, however; there is no wrong way to give art. Even if you slightly misjudge which piece to give, the recipient is still likely to appreciate that you took the time to choose and purchase a piece of art rather than a more generic gift. Moreover, the benefits and possibilities offered by making the right decision far outweigh the negatives.

The Stress of Finding the Right Gift

Whether it’s for a birthday, a Christmas present, or just a little something to say “I love you”, a well-thought-out gift is always going to go down well. This can make the act of choosing the perfect gift extremely stressful, of course.

Giving art has some advantages in this respect. The person you are giving to is very unlikely to already have something similar. Furthermore, there is no way to gauge the price of artwork just from looking at it – assuming the recipient has no prior knowledge of the piece, you don’t have to worry about cost anxiety!

Artwork doesn’t grow old; it doesn’t have a new version released each year. Great artworks do not expire, and if you choose the right one, its new owner won’t get tired of looking at it. Artworks are long-term gifts that can also be shared and even passed down from generation to generation. With these facts in mind, artwork has more longevity than the majority of other gifts you could opt to give.

Know the Tastes of the Recipient

Narrowing down your choices is the first key step you should take. If you know the recipient’s favorite artists already then perhaps this could be an easy choice, but they may also see that as something of a cop-out; a less thoughtful gift perhaps than choosing something from another artist who creates similar works to the ones they already know and love.

You could also look for artworks based on their favorite activities or passions, whether that be a particular sport, animal, or even just the style of artwork you know they enjoy. You wouldn’t buy something abstract for someone whose home is decorated with landscapes and classical pieces, for example. Perhaps your intended recipient has a liking for Calman Shemi’s artworks, though – you could consider one of his more abstract pieces if they haven’t got something like that in their collection already.

One good tip is to make a shortlist of your happiest memories with the person you are giving to, and see if this can help you select a certain kind of artist or artwork.

Set Your Budget

Art doesn’t have to be expensive to be good, which is sometimes a difficult thing to grasp given that elsewhere in our lives the cost of something is often intrinsically linked with its quality. 

We all have a certain range in mind for different types of products and will use this to factor into our purchasing decisions. Artwork is a very different kind of purchase to say, electronics, so don’t worry too much if the piece you pick out costs less than you were planning to spend!

At the same time, it’s easy to go overboard when buying art because there is a widely held belief that art is just expensive by its very nature. Again, do your best to disregard these feelings and concentrate on the value of the piece concerning its intended recipient, and not its price tag.

Never Choose Anything You Wouldn’t Display Yourself

If you are thinking of purchasing artwork for someone, you will likely have quite a lot in common with them. Therefore, you can trust your tastes when making a purchase decision on artwork – at least to the extent of not buying anything that you wouldn’t want to hang in your own home!