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Three Categories to Help Assess the Value of Sports Art

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Art is frequently collected for personal gratification, while others choose to purchase artworks for their resale value. You may actually have an interest somewhere in between the two. If you take pleasure in sports art for the resale value, you need to appreciate a few things when projecting resale value.

Artwork with a base theme in sports ranges from paintings of golf courses, to busts of famous sports figures. The more valuable pieces of sports art for resale fall into three categories: the players, the venues, and the events.

The Players

Some of the most valuable artwork in the sports world is of legendary individuals who achieved fame in their sport. Oil paintings of the great Babe Ruth are valued treasure for baseball fans, and an oil painting of Muhammad Ali has an estimated value of $30,000.

When searching for resale value in sports art, pay extra close attention to pieces that have authentic signatures of the person. When a painting, photograph, or other piece of artwork is signed, it stamps an authentic, one-of-a-kind uniqueness to that piece.

Famous Venues

Art connoisseurs may not appreciate that famous paintings of the Colosseum in Rome actually fall into the category of sports art. Probably the most infamous sports venue in history, paintings of The Colosseum is not the only valuable sports art of renowned stadiums.

A number of the paintings and valuable photography of sports stadiums involves many of the game's historic figures as well. When determining the resale value of a piece of artwork for a sports venue, consider if the stadium or ballpark no longer exists. The artistic value of these pieces increases when the art shows both a famous venue, plus a historic game played there.

Famous Events

Finding value in sports art can include a blending of the two previously discussed subjects. Paintings and unique photography from some of the most famous games, matches, or other types of sports events combine both the venue and the players.

There are a few oil prints of Muhammad Ali fights for instance, that are more valuable than any single print of the celebrated boxer. Researching famous events in sports will expose you to a number of the more significant participants, plus the venues where they performed.

If you have an interest in sports art the American Sport Are Museum  & Archives (ASAMA), maintains an extensive collection of valuable art collectibles. Since 1984, they have been committed to conserving over a thousand valuable pieces of sports art.

The ASAMA collection includes extraordinary sports paintings, sculptures, vintage posters, and rare photographs. There is a vast array of types of sports art, many of the pieces extremely valuable. If you narrow down your preferences and apply some research, you can begin to amass a fulfilling collection of valuable sports art. 

For assistance in appraising sports art that interests you, talk to professionals at the Chicago Appraisers Association.


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