Why do people buy art?

Some people buy art to show off, to brag to their friends about how much they paid for each piece. Others buy it to fill an empty space on a wall, or because the colors match their décor. These people aren't really collectors; they're dilettantes with little appreciation of art.

The true collector buys art because it gives them a visceral reaction. They see it, and they fall in love with it. They also couldn't explain why they like it; they just do.

When I was married, my wife and I would visit major museums like the Louvre in Paris. She liked to walk through every room looking at every piece. On the other hand, I'd walk through as if I were in a hurry to find the bathroom. One day, over coffee, she asked why I did that. I told her that all I was interested in looking at were the pieces that stopped me dead in my tracks. I wasn't even looking at them directly, but I'd catch it out of the corner of my eye and had the visceral reaction that I was looking for.

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