When art appreciates

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NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Tuesday, January 20th.

Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning, I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: the value of art, and factors that make it a good investment.

WORLD’s Emma Eicher has the story.

EMMA EICHER: If you’ve ever had oatmeal for breakfast, you’ve probably seen the artwork of Robert Rodriguez.

ROBERT RODRIGUEZ: Well, you know the Quaker on Quaker Oats boxes? That one's mine …

In the late ‘90s, Rodriguez illustrated the most recent iconic white-haired man with the pilgrim hat for the company.

And he’s done a variety of other projects. You might remember the 1985 poster for the sequel to Romancing the Stone:

RODRIGUEZ: So I did that. I did a bunch of movie posters. I did Jewel of the Nile. I seemed to always do the sequels, I don't know why...

Nowadays, Rodriguez focuses on fine art, rather than illustrations. When he made the switch six years ago, he painted a batch of posters that a collector found especially beautiful.

RODRIGUEZ: Because some lady was standing there looking at these when I'd finished them, saying, ‘I can't decide, they're all nice. I can't decide which one to buy.’ She's like, ‘I guess I gotta buy all of them!’

That moment convinced Rodriguez to keep trying his hand at Western art, painting Native Americans and prairie buffalo. Almost every March, he hangs up his pieces here at the Out West Art Show in Great Falls, Montana.

It’s part of a larger event, called Western Art Week, where more than 750 artists converge to showcase their love for the West.

CHIP JONES: I'm Chip Jones, I’m a bronze sculptor from Stevensville, Montana.

Jones is the director of the show. He started coming here as a child and became a sculptor 25 years ago. But it wasn’t a viable career—not at first.

JONES: I did this as a side gig for a long time because I couldn't make a living.

For most, the key to getting established is finding buyers. And not just one-off purchases, but people who keep coming back for more.

JONES: Many people have 15-20 pieces of mine over the years, and it's really fun and warms your heart because now they've become friends, you know. And they come and they, a lot of times, just come in and say hello …

Artists of all kinds show off their craft here—from Native American jewelry, to intricate woodcarving, to fine art.

JONES: When patrons are buying your work, they're buying a piece of you, and they want to hear the story, you know, they want to find out how you do it, why you do it, and I love to share that with them.

Like many artists, Jones and Rodriguez have collectors who pay top dollar for their artwork. Collectors make up a small—but mighty—percentage of customers at Western Art Week.

BUDDY LE: The value of the art really is derived from the notoriety of the artist…

Buddy Le is a gallery owner in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. He shops with an eye for beauty, but also for investment opportunities.

LE: It goes back to supply and demand. And so you'll see certain trends, and so, I personally call them collection factors.

Standard rules of economics apply to the art world, too. Rising demand for an artist’s work—and limited supply—make it more valuable over time. Le finds those artists and keeps an eye on up-and-comers for future investments.

LE: People will buy decor for their homes, prints, you know, different things. And it's like, yeah, you're going to decorate your home, but you're not going to be able to resell it at all for anything. Whereas with original art, one, there's a higher probability of being able to actually sell it, and then if you're able to sell it for more than you buy it for, then, you know, that's just icing on a cake.

But isn’t art subjective? Le says, yes, but not exclusively.

LE: I have to say that quality still wins out, you know, and that's, that's the tough part, because everybody has a different eye. It's art, right? It's very subjective, but good quality art will always, will always sell.

Craftsmanship, scarcity, and popularity all drive the price of artwork up.

Still, most people aren’t looking to decorate their homes with expensive art investments. Instead, it’s more about personal enjoyment—whether it’s a digital print or an original work.

And Le says that makes art valuable in more ways than one.

LE: Well I have a fly fishing painting that I absolutely love, and I see it every morning when I come down the stairs, to get my coffee, and it just, it just brings a smile to my face. I think it doesn't matter necessarily, what I paid for it. I have no intention of selling it, it just brings me a lot of joy when I look at it.

Ask an artist here if they’re also a collector, and the likely answer is yes. Bronze sculptor Chip Jones says he has around 80 original pieces in his home. But why?

JONES: I think it's always nice to have a piece that you really can share with your friends when they come and they see something up on your fireplace or something, and you have a story behind it.

Whether it reveals a story, or a smile, it’s those elements which separate the true value of art from the price tag.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Emma Eicher in Great Falls, Montana.

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