As the Art market shows signs of slowing down, the question of who the real art collectors are has never been more relevant. In June, art adviser Jacob King addressed this issue in a memo to his clients, following lackluster results at high-profile auctions. His argument? The growing popularity of an “investment mindset” could be at the heart of the market’s recent contraction.
King observed that a downturn in primary market art sales might be linked to “feedback loops that caused prices for art to spiral higher, while propelling an ever-greater supply of new material onto the market.” In simpler terms, artists are churning out work to meet the demands of a market that rapidly consumes and flips these pieces at auction, driving prices to unsustainable heights.
This isn’t just King’s observation. Kibum Kim, director at Commonwealth and Council gallery in Los Angeles, has also taken note of this trend. He points to an “artificial sense of urgency that doesn’t give people a chance to really dive deeply into an artist’s practice.” Although his gallery tends to avoid collectors with such a mindset, Kim says he’s seen some individuals making purchases based on “hearsay” rather than on personal connection with the artwork or its place in their collection.
But, as speculators begin to exit the scene, a new narrative is emerging—one that suggests the collectors still active in the market are those who truly care about the art itself, not its investment potential. These collectors, insiders say, are driven by what moves them emotionally and intellectually, rather than by financial gain. In conversations with ARTnews, several prominent and influential collectors emphasized that they don’t view collecting as a financial strategy. Instead, they purchase works that resonate with them and often share their collections with the public through museums.
Art adviser Allan Schwartzman explains, “These are passionate collectors—they are never looking at what everyone else is looking at. They’re not interested in what the market values. Sometimes what they value aligns with what the market values, but in general they’re more thoughtful in their approach.”
Jill Kraus, a trustee at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and a longstanding presence on art world power lists, has been vocal about her philosophy of collecting. At the 2023 Bomb magazine benefit, where she and her husband Peter were honored, Kraus reiterated her stance. “If you’re an artist, keep creating. If you’re a dealer, stop telling your artists to make the same painting 50 times in 50 different colors. If you’re a collector, buy with your heart and your eyes, not your ears. I’m adamant about this,” she said during her speech.
For younger collectors looking for guidance, these “true believers” offer a roadmap. They provide a model of arts patronage that impacts both artists and institutions while remaining deeply personal. Schwartzman notes, “It’s just like going to school. People need good mentors to do something well that’s moving the needle.”
As the art world continues to evolve, these thoughtful, passionate collectors may just be the ones who shape its future.
Joel Wachs: A Life Dedicated to Art
Since 1971, Joel Wachs, President of the Andy Warhol Foundation and former Los Angeles City Council member, has been using a portion of his paycheck to build an impressive art collection.
In the late 1960s, a young Joel Wachs, still in his twenties and on his final day in Kyoto, walked into a modest gallery named Red Lantern. For $25 each, he purchased two etchings—his first steps toward what would become a lifelong passion for art. The following year, after graduating from law school, Wachs realized how much he enjoyed surrounding himself with art. Working at a law firm that represented artists in Los Angeles, he started visiting the renowned Gemini Graphics studio (now Gemini G.E.L.). Inspired by the story of Herbert and Dorothy Vogel—two civil servants who built a significant art collection—Wachs began setting aside money from his income to purchase art, starting when he was elected to the LA City Council in 1971 at the age of 32.
Wachs’s interest in conceptual art emerged during law school when he first encountered Sherrie Levine’s 1981 series After Walker Evans. “I said, ‘How can this be art, where someone is photographing someone else’s photographs?'” Wachs recalled from his Manhattan apartment. This collection, similar to the Vogel’s display style, fills every vertical surface in his home, including doors. Discussing Levine’s work with gallery owner Richard Kuhlenschmidt ignited a fascination in Wachs that never left him. He eventually purchased the piece, the first that Levine ever sold. “To this day, we’re very close friends,” Wachs added.
While serving on the City Council, Wachs became a champion of the local arts community. “When I ran for mayor, Christopher Wool made buttons for me,” he shared. Artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Sam Francis, Ellsworth Kelly, and David Hockney even sold editions at Gemini to support his campaign. Wachs was known for maintaining an independent voice, often standing apart from developers.
In 2001, after moving to New York to become president of the Andy Warhol Foundation, Wachs’s art-buying budget significantly increased. Half of his paycheck now goes toward adding to his collection, which has grown to include 200 works by artists such as Jennifer Packer, James Bishop, Mike Kelley, and David Hammons. One notable piece is a sculpture by Lee Bontecou that he bought with $18,000 from an insurance check after the 1992 LA earthquake. Another is a painting by Marisa Merz, acquired on the advice of dealer Barbara Gladstone. Wachs also makes use of his closet as extra storage for his expanding collection.
Wachs has always been mindful of how his collection can benefit institutions. “Everything I buy, I buy with the institutions in mind,” he said, referring to museums like the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA), which he helped establish in 1979, and the Hammer Museum. He has already donated 100 works to each institution, with plans to donate his painting and sculpture holdings to MOCA and his collection of prints, drawings, and photographs to the Hammer Museum. “I’ve found immense satisfaction in not just building my collections but also using them to support the very institutions that I’ve worked with throughout my career,” he said.
One of Wachs’s recent finds is a Blinky Palermo work on paper from 1969, which he discovered at a small auction in Belgium. It is a study for Palermo’s 1970 installation at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels and depicts a series of blue isosceles triangles. For Wachs, the thrill of acquiring such works is still as exciting as it was when he first began collecting.
His approach to collecting remains personal and thoughtful. “It’s not about what you don’t have. It’s about what you do with what you have,” Wachs reflected. “You have choices to make.”
Over the years, Cárdenas has collaborated closely with institutions such as the Smithsonian and the National Museum of Mexican Art to enhance their collections of Latino art while organizing exhibitions and publications. In 1994, he became the founding executive director of Latino USA, a weekly radio program produced at UT Austin that was later adopted by NPR. Last year, after joining the Blanton Museum’s board of trustees, Cárdenas and his wife, Dolores Garcia, donated over 5,000 pieces from their collection. Following this significant contribution, the museum appointed Claudia Zapata as its first associate curator of Latino art. Zapata’s initial project focuses on researching and cataloging the Cárdenas-Garcia donation.
Zapata remarked, “With Latinx collectors like Gil and Dolores, it’s not about diversifying a financial portfolio in a detached market. It’s very personal, which is evident in their collecting practice.”
Since Cárdenas began his collection, he has witnessed a transformation in the perception of Latinx art within the broader art community, attributed to artists, curators, nonprofit leaders, and fellow collectors. He stated, “There is a greater appreciation, understanding, and recognition of this art as part of American art.”
Marieluise Hessel believes in the power of art as a source of hope, as she establishes a research center and museum at Bard College.
Reflecting on her childhood in postwar Germany, Hessel recalled, “There was nothing but poverty and loss.” She described living in a single room after the war, having lost everything. With her father deceased, she feared losing her mother too. “The one thing that saved me was a beautiful little church. I would go there to pray, and it provided me with a sense of safety and comfort in that beautiful space.” Years later, she visited Schloss Linderhof, one of the castles built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria in the 1870s. “That’s where I learned to dream of a better life, free from war and the suffering it brings,” she said.
In the 1960s, Hessel began exploring museums in Vienna, where her first husband, Egon Hessel, was from. “I will never forget the first time I saw works by Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele at the Belvedere,” she shared. “I didn’t realize it then, but those beautiful yet melancholic works had a profound impact on my life.”
After connecting with Munich gallerist Heiner Friedrich, Hessel started acquiring pieces by artists like Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke, CoBrA artists, and Minimalists. “I collected what I could afford—one or two paintings a year,” she explained. “People say, ‘You have an eye,’ but I often think, ‘How could I know that a Gerhard Richter would eventually be worth $3 or $5 million?’ I liked it, wanted it, and could afford it. That’s how we approached collecting. I never thought of it as an investment—it just wasn’t part of the conversation.”
With a comprehensive research library in her New York apartment, Hessel has always pursued her interests. Allan Schwartzman, an art adviser, remarked, “The research Marlies conducts is as much about understanding concepts as it is about studying artworks. She’s among a rare group of collectors who think like curators.” As society has evolved, so has her collection; in the 1990s, she focused on identity issues and artists addressing AIDS, like Robert Mapplethorpe. Recently, she has collaborated with artists of the African diaspora, including Lina Iris Viktor and Zohra Opoku.
Schwartzman noted, “She takes this very seriously. It’s her job, and she strives to do it well, wanting to ensure that what she shares with the public is both compelling and worthy.”
In 1992, Hessel co-founded the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College after connecting with president Leon Botstein over their mutual interest in turn-of-the-century Vienna. In 2006, she established the Hessel Museum of Art on campus, creating a space for curatorial students to organize exhibitions with real artworks. She also made her exceptional collection accessible to the public, stating, “I wanted to provide something for people who lacked access because everyone deserves the opportunity to dream.”