For anyone with a few hundred million dollars lying around and an interest in art, try reading Kelly Crow’s article in the Wall Street Journal. She highlights Jose Mugrabi’s singular collection strategy that allowed him to control nearly 10% of all known Andy Warhol works.
Mr. Mugrabi, a former Columbian textile merchant now residing in Manhattan, first became interested in collecting in 1981 when he bought his first painting, a Renoir, for $121,000. He bagan buying paintings he liked whether or not he knew the artist. (Crow describes an early auction where Mugrabi bought an Yves Klein and after he was awarded the work turned to the person next to him and asked “Who is Yves Klein?”) In 1987 Mugrabi bought his first Warhol and became so enamored with the work that he sold his other works and collected only Warhol for the past 20 years and now owns 800 works by the artist.
Of course owning so many works by one artist puts Mugrabi and other Warhol collectors in an intersting position. Mugrabi bids on any Warhol that appears on the auction block often driving up the prices in the process. Some have accused Mugrabi of doing so to increase the prices of his own collection. Mugrabi says he is just trying to buy more Warhols. In any event this practice does keep Warhol prices moving up and keeps them out of reach for several collectors. But the important thing to note here is that Mugrabi still buys several of the works on which he bids. He has a passion for the artist that first drove him to visit gallery back rooms and auctions to snap up any Warhol he could find at a time when the artist’s work was unpopular and relatively inexpensive.
Mugrabi has the passion (and the bank account) to collect Warhol exclusively, but that potentially leaves him and other Warhol collectors vulnerable to market corrections. Crow poses the question of what will happen if Mugrabi falls on hard times personally and needs to liquidate his collection. It would cause an influx of Warhol inventory and ultimately drive down prices (especially with Mugrabi not bidding on his own works). In essence the Warhol market is somewhat tied to Mugrabi’s personal financial stability. And if Mugrabi needs to sell off his collection, he will do so at a great loss.
But what can we learn from Mugrabi? Is it that we should snap up as many works by one artist as possible? Not really. What is most impressive about Mugrabi is his passion for Warhol and drive to collect his work. Yes, there are financial implications, but there are just as many negatives for Mugrabi as there are positives. The bottom line is if you have the passion and the means to collect a single artist, then it pays to put all your energy into it.
