Introduction

In art collecting, one truth consistently holds: quality matters more than quantity. Whether building a focused collection or acquiring across categories, buying the best possible work by an artist will always outperform in terms of cultural relevance, market strength, and legacy value.

“Always buy the best artwork available in your budget. And stretch, where possible, both with your eye and budget. If you continuously scoop up bargains, then you end up with a collection of bargains.” – Nicole Bray, Mercer Contemporary. 

At Mercer Contemporary, we guide collectors toward acquiring works of the highest quality – helping them distinguish between an artist’s most significant pieces and those that may carry less long-term impact.

1. Not All Works by an Artist Are Equal

Artists often create across multiple series, mediums, and time periods. Within each, there are subtle hierarchies:

  • Breakthrough works – pieces that define an artist’s career.
  • Signature styles – highly recognizable works that collectors and institutions prioritize.
  • Experimental works – valuable historically, but not always as strong in the market.
  • Commercial works – produced in larger volumes, often less significant.

Advisors help collectors decipher which pieces truly represent the artist at their best.

Related: What Does an Art Advisor Do?

2. Why Buying the Best Matters

Choosing the highest-quality work available yields lasting advantages:

  • Market Resilience – Top-tier works hold value better during market corrections.
  • Institutional Demand – Museums and curators focus acquisitions on an artist’s best periods and signature styles.
  • Liquidity – Should a collector sell, significant works attract stronger demand and better terms.
  • Legacy – A collection built on quality tells a story of discernment and leaves heirs with meaningful assets.

As one major collector once told us: “Collecting art feeds my soul in a way the stock market never could – but it only works if I buy the best.”

3. How Advisors Identify the Best Works

Advisors bring insight and access that collectors may not have on their own. They consider:

  • Series and Periods – Which body of work best represents the artist?
  • Provenance – Exhibition history, publications, and ownership chain that elevate a work’s importance.
  • Condition – Even a masterpiece loses value if poorly preserved.
  • Market Comparables – How similar works by the artist have performed at auction and privately.
  • Curatorial Perspective – Which works resonate most with institutions and curators?

Related: How Do UHNW Collectors Acquire Art Privately?

4. Stretching for Quality

Collectors often face the choice: buy more, or buy better. The wisest strategy is almost always to reach for quality, even if it means stretching the budget.

  • Acquiring one masterpiece instead of three secondary works yields stronger long-term value.
  • Museums and future generations will remember the iconic work, not the lesser ones.
  • Quality work often opens doors to greater access, as galleries recognize serious and discerning collectors.

Advisors help collectors strike a balance between ambition and market opportunity, ensuring that purchases align with both passion and strategy.

5. The Role of Access

Access often determines whether a collector can buy an artist’s best work at all.

  • Galleries reserve top pieces for trusted clients, advisors, or institutions.
  • Private sales may offer works that never hit the public market.
  • Studio visits can provide early opportunities to acquire directly from an artist’s defining series.

Advisors with deep relationships can unlock these opportunities, ensuring collectors don’t just buy, they buy the best.

Related: Collector Communities: Museum Boards, Committees, and Private Events

6. Why Quality Shapes Collections

Ultimately, quality defines a collection’s impact. A focused collection of significant works tells a stronger story than a broad collection of secondary examples. Benefits include:

  • Recognition – Strong collections are featured in exhibitions, publications, and museum shows.
  • Market Strength – Quality collections command respect from dealers, auction houses, and institutions.
  • Generational Value – Heirs inherit assets of substance, not burdens.
  • Philanthropy – Quality works are the ones museums seek for donations or promised gifts.

Why Mercer Contemporary

Mercer Contemporary helps collectors:

  • Identify an artist’s most significant works through rigorous market and curatorial analysis.
  • Access top-tier opportunities through trusted relationships with galleries, estates, and auction houses.
  • Provide context on condition, provenance, and market comparables to ensure quality.
  • Build focused, meaningful collections that hold both cultural and financial value.
  • Balance passion with strategy, ensuring collections endure for generations to come.

Conclusion

In art collecting, quality is everything. The best works by an artist not only hold market value but also shape cultural legacy. By reaching for quality – even when it requires stretching – collectors ensure their collections remain meaningful, resilient, and admired for generations.

Mercer Contemporary offers art advisory, fine art appraisal, and legacy planning services for UHNW collectors and family offices. To discuss the acquisition of significant works for your collection, please contact us.