How to Master Collecting Art According to Swizz Beatz
The king collector breaks down his guidelines for acquiring work that will grow with you
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Collecting art is not for the faint of heart, nor the deficient of coin. Spending three or four (or five or six) figures on that oil painting or rare figurine can turn into a gold rush or a toilet flush. Patience is key, as is a discerning eye and feel for the market. At least, that’s what one of the culture’s biggest art aficionados told us.
Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean began purchasing pieces two decades ago when he was still a newly minted millionaire. He has since amassed one of the world’s most respected libraries of contemporary art; the Dean Collection features work from KAWS’ wooden colossi statue to the socio-political fire of Deana Lawson’s photography. (The cover art for Swizz’s debut album was created by the world-renowned Kadir Nelson — 11 years before Drake would commission Nelson for the Nothing Was The Same visual.)
It wasn’t all hits, though. Before Swizz was copping Shepard Fairey’s work, commissioning statues for rising artists like Cleon Peterson, and increasing African-American artist visibility at…
