Can Men Appreciate Fine Art?

Short answer is YES.

Men can and should appreciate fine art. Its no longer a realm of high class people sipping champagne trying to find the meaning in a sculpture of broken hand tools. Some art, such as Abstract is highly subjective. You may look at it and think it looks like a jumbled mess or conversely thinks its absolutely beautiful.










Abstract art most of the time comes in the form of paintings. Some artists like Jackson Pollock became hugely famous for making abstract art and some pieces command a lot of money.

Even if you are not educated in identifying famous artists there are still clues you can look for when choosing a piece of artwork.

Is the Art Original?

Look closely at the painting itself. Lightly run your finger tip over the paint. If the can see brush strokes and feel raised paint then its most likely not a print. If the painting is a watercolour look for fading at the end of the brush strokes where the painter is letting his or her brush run dry. Also, on watercolours you should be able to see pencil behind the paint since the artist will first sketch in pencil. This is more prominent in watercolour because the paint is much lighter than oil or acrylic.

Is the Piece Signed?

If the art isn't signed than its not worth your time, unless you really love it. Even amateurs sign their work. Look at the bottom corners of the painting for the signature. Some artists will simply monogram their work but the best is when they sign their name. Better yet when they date it.

Subject Matter

Determining the possible value of a painting by subject matter can be tricky sometimes. Generally, every artist starts off doing landscapes, so there are a ton of them out there. That being said the famous "Group of Seven" artists in Canada did mostly landscapes which are very highly prized by collectors and museums. If you really want a landscape painting look for one with other objects in it. Houses, barns, horses, people, people riding horses and so on. Also, you want them to be very detailed. From there you have Nautical, Military, Still Life or Native, to name a few.

Still lifes are usually old which could be a safe bet that they are valuable. Older Native (North American Indian) art is an even safer bet. Native art made in the 50's and earlier can be very valuable regardless of the artist. Newer Native artwork is still valuable, especially if you can find something from a know Native artist.

What Does the Frame Say?

If you can, turn the painting around and examine the backing for more information. Many times the company that provided the frame also put a company tag on the backing. Many times it will list the company name, address and date.

A Quick Note on Prints

Prints are a very popular way for people to be able to enjoy a painting without having the original. If there is a print you like then by all mean buy it and display it. The two peticular items you have to look for on prints is first the artists signature, which is usually in pencil underneath the painting itself in a thin band of white space. Next is the print number, which appears something like "120/400". This tells you that you have the 120th print out of 400.

There of course are other types of art or items you can frame but now you should by now have a basic working knowledge when it comes to paintings in general and what to look for. Having said that keep in mind that the most important part of buying and displaying artwork is that you like the work. If you think it looks beautiful and will enjoy looking at it then you should buy it. That, of course is where the true value lies.