Today's art market is incredibly dynamic and with so much to see and explore it is no surprise that a growing number of people wish to start art collections of their own. However, the notoriously unpredictable and subjective nature of art collecting can make it a highly daunting task for those who are just starting out.

In A Poor Collector's Guide to Buying Great Art, veteran collector and Norwegian adventurer Erling Kagge offers sound advice to those who may enjoy art but lack experience in how the art market actually functions. Drawing on his own experiences both as a collector as well as a mountaineer, he tackles a variety of key issues such as getting started in the art market, trusting one's instincts, appraising the value of a piece as well as finding trustworthy partners.

This book will undoubtedly serve as a great companion to any fledgling collector or to any enthusiast who wants to learn more about the insular and often inexplicable world of the art market.

By: Erling Kagge

Release date: June 2015

Format: 6 3/4″ × 9 1/2″

Features: Full colour, hardcover, 192 pages.

Author Biography

In 1990, Erling Kagge and Børge Ousland became the first men ever to reach the North Pole unsupported. The expedition started from Ellesmere Island on March 8, 1990 and reached the North Pole 58 days later on May 4, 1990. They traveled approximately 800 kilometers on skis pulling their supplies on sledges.

Less than three years later, in 1992–93, Kagge completed the first unsupported expedition to the South Pole, covering the 814-mile (1,310 km) route in 50 days. Kagge had no radio contact to the outside world for the duration of this expedition, which was featured on the cover of the international edition of TIME magazine on March 1, 1993.

In 1994, Kagge summited Mount Everest, thus becoming the first person to complete the "Three Poles Challenge". For two years during this period, Kagge worked as a lawyer for industrial giant Norsk Hydro.

After his record-breaking feat of reaching the "three poles", Kagge attended Cambridge University to study philosophy for three terms. In 1996, he founded Oslo-based publishing house, Kagge Forlag, which quickly grew to become one of Norway’s leading book publishing companies. In 2000 Kagge Forlag acquired one of Norway’s oldest publishing companies, J.M. Stenersens Forlag. Kagge and Stenersens published around 100 new titles in 2016.

Kagge has written seven books on exploration, philosophy and art collecting, which have been translated into several languages. He sometimes writes articles for newspapers and contributes to different books as well. Adventure and exploration remain intrinsic to his nature, and Kagge continues to do expeditions, although with a lower profile than in the nineties. In 2010 he and urban historian and photographer Steve Duncan descended into the sewers, subways and water tunnels of New York - walking for five days from the Bronx, via Manhattan, to the Atlantic Ocean. In 2012 he walked the entire length of Los Angeles' Sunset Boulevard over three days with screenwriter Petter Skavlan and gallerist Peder Lund.

In addition to running his publishing business and writing, Kagge is a leading collector of international contemporary art and Russian icons.Astrup Fearnley Museum for Modern Art displayed art from his collection through the summer of 2015. The New York Times has described Erling Kagge as "a fascinating man. He's a philosophical adventurer or perhaps an adventurous philosopher".

Kagge's book Silence: In the Age of Noise was broadcast as BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week in January 2019.

*Note from Home Smith: "Poor" is used as a tongue in-cheek phrase and it could be easily said that the Art purchases that Mr. Kagge makes reference to are not within reach for all budget types. That being said, we enjoy the insights and images and find the book is a delightful read, if more aspirational than the title may suggest.

"A Poor Collector's Guide to Buying Great Art"

"French Style With Vintage Finds"