Art Advisory: The Highs and Lows of the Job
Art advisory has the potential to be a cushy job, replete with museum shows and cocktail hours.
Our days, however, rarely include either; they are more like this. Some days are filled with unexpected and stressful situations that I would have NEVER imagined having to handle (like when art arrived to us with an apparent bug infestation). Others come with extreme pride and satisfaction (like closing a sale on a fantastic piece we found at Art Basel). Lately, however, there has been a lot of roller-coastering. It’s been quite emotional. Since our field tends to prompt curiosity, I’m happy to share a window into the unexpected highs and lows of all things Art Advisory.
Let’s start with the LOWS.Staffing.
Under the umbrella of staffing, I am going to include the areas of turnover, payroll, taxes, employment agreements, common sense, insurance, my personal child care that severely impacts my job, and more. I like for all of these issues to operate smoothly. When they do not, my day is ruined. And without getting into it, I will just say that they do not always operate smoothly. Alongside that, I am incredibly lucky to have worked with various iterations of our team over Mason Lane’s life, and every single person played a role in where we are today.
Radio Silence.
Radio silence from anyone in my professional life really disables me from doing my job. Why? Because we are selling unique objects that require physical efforts to see, move, etc.. Clients’ deep interest in a piece that I know will sell soon, galleries’ sharing that a high-demand work is now available, designers referring us to a huge prospective client who wants to sign on the dotted line BEFORE the NY fairs, all followed by complete silence for days or weeks takes a lot of deep breaths for me to manage. And yet, this happens ALL. THE. TIME… So much so that I’ve become desensitized and temper my emotions when the “large waterfront project for major art collectors” calls come in. Maybe this is normal for a small business owner? Who knows, but the upside is that we do not ever go MIA on our clients because we don’t want them to suffer as I do when not hearing back - We are all about the holding emails, the follow ups in writing, the clarity of next steps, and more.
Logistics.
I am pleased to be relatively uninvolved in logistics because Maddie oversees it all, but even a birds eye view of some of the issues our clients never know we are dealing with can feel heavy. We have had shippers lose large pieces of art, dealt with canvas supports that were removed for a drug search, watched someone through a camera steal art from a doorstop, and the list goes on. And yes, we did receive a bug-infested artwork once and that problem has been solved.
There are also so many highs that make it all worth it. Here are a few.Getting The Project.
A lot of our prospective clients are hesitant about the concept of even hiring an art advisory. When they choose to do so, and choose us, I feel SO good. The best example of this is when Winter McDermott Design referred us to a client who ended up fully engaging us and another art advisor. Essentially he wanted to see who could provide better options first, and let’s just say there is nothing that motivates me more than competition. The battle of the Art Advisors ended well for us, and we’re grateful to have played a role in creating one of the most beautiful homes I’ve ever seen.
Staffing.
Yep, this item is on the HIGH list too, because beyond all of the nitty gritty that I mentioned above, I love making progress with my team together. The best of these moments is when a great sale, new client, or getting a giant piece of art into seemingly smaller elevator is entirely a group effort. An annual highlight is also our trip to Art Basel Miami Beach - it’s the one time of year when everyone from our 3 offices come together, and the trip is a dose of work, sunshine, exhaustion and retreat all packed into five December days.
Photography Days.
Photography Days are just the best. We exclusively work with photographers who are excellent at their job AND fun people, so spending a day in one house tweaking every styled detail (pillows, bed linens, coffee table books, you name it) is entirely amusing. Plus, taking professional shots of a project we’ve worked on for months, maybe years, and seeing it look picture perfect is extremely satisfying. I used to get anxious about whether we would get press for the project, and now, with some Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, and Luxe appearances under our belt, I care a lot less. I’m truly just focused on how good it feels to ME. and sharing it with the world on social and/or through press is a nice after party.