Where Does Art Go To Die?
IS THERE ARTWORK sitting in your closet or under the stairs? Have you inherited art that just isn’t your style? Are you downsizing and wondering where all your art is going to go? Not to worry, follow the suggestions below to give your treasures a new life.
ART SWAP: If you have artwork you no longer want, have a party. Invite your friends to bring art they no longer need or have room for and trade or sell to one another. You may end up with a gem.
AUCTION FOR CHARITY: If you have a large collection of work you need to find a new home for, consider putting on an auction for your favorite charity. Hire a professional auctioneer, have it catered and let the good times roll.
DONATION TO CHARITY: Donate artwork to a charitable organization so they can use the work for a fundraiser or for the nonprofit’s office. Note: Be sure to ask if the nonprofit can use the piece of art before you donate anything so they aren’t stuck with something they have to find room for in their closet.
REVENGE: Leave artwork in your will to an ungrateful child in your family. Contingency: They only get their inheritance after hanging the painting in a prominent place in their home for five years.
AUCTION HOUSES: Places like Sotheby’s or Hindman Auctions in Denver can put your artwork in front of collectors who are looking for that specific style or genre of art.
CONSIGNMENT: Consignment stores like Annie’s Home Consignments are a great place to sell your art and give locals access to art they might otherwise not have.
LIFTUP: There is a perception that if artwork is donated to LiftUp or other organizations that help people in need, the artwork must not have value. Challenge that notion and consider the joy a piece of fine art could bring to someone who would otherwise not be able to afford an original. If the goal of art is to stimulate conversation and create engagement, don’t keep your artwork locked in a closet. Give it to someone who might cherish it.
BURIAL OR BONFIRE? Worst-case scenario, if you can’t part with the work but you can’t keep it, consider a bonfire. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Just don’t get too close. Paints and other materials in art can be toxic to humans and the environment. A burial might be a little safer. Consider a eulogy for the work and imagine the looks on the next home-owners’ faces when they dig up their garden to plant carrots and find a Renoir buried in the backyard. AwA
