|
|
 |
|
| Passion Investments: Art |
Going Native
Daniel Akst
02/01/2007
|
Dan Albrecht is a truly devoted collector of contemporary work.
He and his wife, Martha, are benefactors of the Heard Museum of Native Cultures
and Art in Phoenix. Today, he focuses on Inuit art, but among Southwestern
Indian artists, he is particularly fond of the late Allan Houser, one of the
best-known modern Native American sculptors, and sculptor Arlo Namingha, whose
father is the well-known Native American artist Dan Namingha.
Among potters, Albrecht singles out Al Qoyawayma, a Hopi
trained as an engineer. One of his complex pots, perhaps 10 inches tall and 12
or 14 inches in diameter, might sell for $10,000, Albrecht says. He also admires
the works of Cavan Gonzales, a grandson of the legendary Maria Martinez, whose
8- or 10-inch-high pots might bring $10,000; Tammy Garcia, whose "absolutely
superb" pots of perhaps 15 inches in height might sell for $50,000 to $70,000;
and Navajo weaver D.Y. Begay, whose works range from $4,000 to $10,000 for a
6-foot-square cloth.
Collectors who buy contemporary works avoid provenance issues
and support working Native American artists. They also receive the added bonus
of seeing their investment in quality contemporary objects increase in value in
as little as five years, a marked shift from recent history, Haas says. "It used
to take decades."
Daniel Akst writes about business and culture for a variety of publications including The New York
Times, the Wall Street Journal and Metropolis. He is the author of the
novel The Webster
Chronicle.
Additional Information:
 Preservation's Pitfalls
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
