Charles Moore – The Black Market. A Guide to Art Collecting

June 2021

 “Sound advice saves you two things: time and money.”

When people ask me what I love most about working in the art world, I always mention two things: meeting amazing people and learning something new every day. Whether this is seeing an artwork for the first time, hearing about an artist unknown to me or learning about history, economy, science and cultures around the world.

Interviewing collectors and artists has taught me lots over the last year, and as an avid reader I loved the book recommendations. The Black Market was suggested to me by Chela Mitchell and Ifeoma Dike for which I am most grateful as I had not read it.

If you are new to collecting you will want to read this book. Charles Moore, art historian and collector, writes in a clear and refreshingly unpretentious way, and ensures that every new collector learns about the various aspects of the art world. Which museums or art fairs should you visit? Which books should you read?  ‘Before you build your art collection, you need to develop your book collection.’, Moore says, and he draws a parallel with the stock market as information is everything and books can help you build your knowledge.

Moore’s narratives of key African American artists in the last century, such as Derrick Adams and Faith Ringgold, peppered with personal anecdotes, are a joy to read. The author had the pleasure of meeting wonderful artists and great collectors of African American art and to read about their journeys and his personal experience with them or their art is just so insightful.

Whilst this publication has a strong focus on the American market and museums, you will still want to put this book on your reading list, his recommendations are incredibly useful. Since receiving this book earlier this year, I have come back to it again and again, it is a gem.