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Rick Blears and Ruth Shearn with their 'Hoop Dancer', a bronze by Lucien Alliot, left and 'Scarf Dancer' by Joseph Lorenzi, right

1:00 am, July 28, 2008
The art of investing

If you feel stocks and shares are too risky, art may be the answer

By Shawn Selby

Rick Blears and his partner Ruth Shearn have avoided investing their extra cash in property or stocks and bonds. They'd much rather their “investments” be placed around the house for their enjoyment. And with property prices heading south and markets uncertain, they have no regrets in choosing to invest in art deco figures and objet d'art rather than bricks and mortar. Blears is a partner with Altrincham-based public relations firm RMS PR, and Shearn, who is also his business partner, is managing director of the firm.

“When I first met Ruth 20 years ago, she had some art deco ceramics. She liked them. We bought one figure together, and I got the bug,” Blears said. “We started buying more deco, bought a few figures in the £1,000-£2,000 range. If we had spare money, we'd buy something nice.”

Today, Blears and Shearn have 30 art deco objects, 23 of which are art deco figures. Since the late 1980s, they've spent £15,000 on their collection, which Blears estimates to now be worth £50,000-£55,000.

“We inadvertently trebled our money. And we've had some fun doing it,” he said.

But Blears and Shearn got into acquiring art deco pieces at the right time — before it became popular — which boosted the value of the objects they had spent a few thousand pounds to acquire several times over.

“In the late 1980s, there was a surge of interest. Elton John started doing it and there was a lot of interest as a result, particularly among the gay community,” Blears said.

“And then the Russian oligarchs started buying. A lot of the figures are of the Ballets Russes. The Russians have been buying them merrily with their bottomless pockets. Figures have gone for £20,000, £30,000, £40,000,” he said. “This has been a terrific investment for people who got in early.”

According to Blears, the art deco movement begin after the Victorian and Edwardian periods when “everyone got sick of the overly elaborate designs of that time”. The movement, which was heavily influenced by the women's suffrage movement in America, reached its height in the period between World War I and World War II.

“People of my generation regarded art deco pieces as quite ordinary. In the post war period, all this stuff was ditched. The rarity of those pieces now is what makes its value. It was the stuff your grandma had and was thrown in the bin. Everything from that period is being collected — glassware, furniture, carpets,” said Blears.

Blears uses web-based auction alerts to stay on top of what's available. “If we feel we have a couple of thousand pounds, we'll go,” he said. “We still like going to auctions. If you keep your wits about you, you can still find these things. You can still buy for a few hundred or low thousands.”

Demand slowing

They don't plan to cash in on their investment any time soon.

“We have no plans to sell them. At the back of your mind, you think you can take these down to Sotheby's and have a very good day at the races.”

It is probably a good move on Blears' part that he has no interest in selling his art deco pieces now. According to a July 17 report from Bloomberg, London art dealers said demand for art has slowed, which is reining in prices. But if you are going to invest in art, doing so when prices are falling is probably a better — and cheaper — move.

Lawrence Jones is taking advantage of the market downturn to build an art collection.

The managing director of internet hosting provider UKFast.net in Manchester city centre, began collecting art in early 2007.

He said he had a “pot of cash” after he tried to buy an estate in Wales, so he put that into buying art. His first acquisition, a painting by Helen Bradley — an artist Jones describes as “a female Lowry”, was for his wife's 30th birthday. “I am very particular about how I choose my artwork. I choose pieces I like. I'm also mindful that art can be a good investment and it can also be a negative one. I just make sure I choose art that has more of a chance of going up than coming down,” said Jones.

Jones said that he unloaded his stocks and shares before the market went south and has been investing in art instead.

“This is traditionally a good time when people start ploughing money into art and other areas because they feel that stocks and shares are way too shaky at the moment. The stocks and shares I had would have been pulling in a fraction, yet the art I bought is now worth significantly more. I made a good 15-20 per cent in the last six months,” said Jones.

Jones has about 40 pieces in his collection which he estimates to be worth £350,000 to £500,000.

“I have also chosen art that I can turn around very quickly. I could sell any of them for more or less the same or more almost instantaneously, but not as quick as you could sell a stock or a share,” he said.

His collection focuses on works from Bradley, Welsh artists Kyffin Williams and Mary Feddon. But the collection also includes a piece by L S Lowry — a drawing from the Salford artist's first exhibition. “It is difficult to get on the Lowry ladder because some of his paintings are commanding millions right now.”

The Jones collection is displayed throughout UKFast.net's City Tower offices in Manchester's Piccadilly Plaza, giving the workplace a gallery feel.

“The office is very secure. It is here for the protection of the art and for the staff. I spend most of my life at work. And so do all my colleagues. I have tried to turn a sterile environment into a fantastic place to work,” he said. Jones said an oil painting by Williams is probably his most valuable piece. He paid £40,000 for it but now “there is an argument that it could be worth in excess of £100,000”.

Although at a recent auction he bid £375,000 for a painting that eventually sold for £450,000, the most he has spent on a painting has been £50,000.

“I don't feel like I'm spending money when I buy them. I know that at any time I am able to pass these on to my children as presents long before I pass away. They are good family heirlooms to keep. I can give them away as presents, yet they will retain a value and hopefully keep going up,” said Jones.

COMMENTS? sselby@crain.com