Show your artwork, or not

[Sharkey]

There is only one reason I can think of why someone would say[showing artwork hurts it value]......They dont own what they say they have.

 

There's a number of reasons people don't display everything they have.

 

I do find it incredibly annoying and juvenile when certain collectors *ahem* rave and brag about owning certain spectacular pieces of OA but then refuse to show them. If you don't want people to know about and/or see the pieces, then why tell people about them in the first place? Answer: TO GET ATTENTION.

 

I think there are a lot of legitimate collectors who have amazing stuff but who don't want to show their art because they DO believe that showing it will hurt the value should they choose to sell it -- that sentiment has been pervasive for a while -- I just don't agree with it. In fact, I'd like to see some type of factual data that shows that a not-seen-in-ages piece that comes to market by a certain artist sells for more than a similar piece that has known whereabouts and that fans have been able to see. I mean, can someone prove that a Romita spidey cover that nobody has seen for a while and goes up for sale sells for considerably more than a Romita spidey cover that has been with somebody like Romitaman on his site for a while?

 

In addition, many of the "big-time" collectors who have galleries on CAF or other sites don't post everything they have. They post some of their good stuff, but not all of it.

 

Some reasons people may not show what they have are:

1. the previously mentioned (by other posters in this thread) concerns about being accused of owning some of the "stolen" Marvel artwork (a fear that is overblown imho)

2. concerns about security or theft

3. not wanting to be bugged by people about the piece (ie, offers to buy, offers to trade, questions about how much it cost, etc).

4. wanting to keep "an ace (or aces) in the hole" in the event that they find a grail piece -- they can pull out something to throw into the negotiations that nobody's seen for a while for potential trade. Kind of a surprise attack in trade negotiations.

 

I'm sure there are other reasons that other collectors can note.

 

But I am very much in the camp of displaying your art. I occasionally rotate pieces on and off my gallery to keep it fresh, but I like to share what I've got with other collectors to appreciate and I like to see and drool over what other people have.