_The passion of passion investments
By Andrew Shirley
During my 16-year career at Knight Frank Madrid was always one of my favourite places to visit. Not just because it is a beautiful, cultured and vibrant city, but because it was always such fun to work with the local team, who became friends as well as colleagues.
Having set up my own content agency it was therefore a real treat to be asked to help create this Madrid Art Special in conjunction with Ana White, Director of Premium Residential Properties, who I’ve worked with on so many projects with over the years.
Ana understands just how important a role art plays in the life of the city, and I hope this report, which includes interviews focusing on both the esteemed heritage of Spain’s many venerated Old Master artists and Madrid’s cutting-edge Contemporary art scene, reflects that.
Investment has become an increasingly important part of the art market and the Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index, which I created in 2012, shines a unique spotlight on the performance of art and nine other investments of passion, such as art, wine, rare whisky and classic cars.
"The value of art and other investments of passions cannot be measured in purely monetary terms, but in the joy that they bring us and the communities of friendship that they help to build"
For the first decade or so of its life, the index chronicled the stellar performance of collectable assets, but over the past few years, prices, including for the overall art market, have started to fall back.
But readers shouldn’t be too upset. Firstly, in my view, passion should be the main driver of any collection. If prices rise that’s a bonus, but the joy that an object brings you should always be the primary focus.
And secondly, the index just shows the headlines. Dig deeper into any asset class and you will find areas of outperformance.
Learning more about a particular asset, whether that’s art or classic cars, or even something you may never have consider collecting like Pokémon cards, is a big part of the joy of building your own portfolio.
In her welcome, Ana shares that enthusiasm with some reflections on her recent visit to Brazil where she lived and breathed the country’s flourishing art landscape for almost 10 days.
The value of art and other investments of passions cannot be measured in purely monetary terms, but in the joy that they bring us and the communities of friendship that they help to build.
To gain an in-depth understanding of the different perspectives on the topics, trends and issues raised, we invite you to read our edition of our report ‘Luxury Investment Index Madrid Special’ here.