February 5, 2024
Without vibrant swirls of color and dazzling designs, the world would be a boring place. For thousands of years, artists have found ways to create. Whether it’s watercolor paintings, engravings, or pottery, the right piece can bring life to any space.
Art brings color, texture, and joy to our surroundings. Without it, our world would be reminiscent of dystopian worlds found in novels. However, finding the right artwork for your space can be a challenging task.
Online art auctions such as those found on HiBid give art collectors an inclusive place to browse art from around the world. Whether you’re looking for vintage art or modern digital art, you can browse thousands of art auctions on HiBid.
Value In Art
When most people think of art, they picture the displays filled with paintings, sculptures, and photographs in an art museum. Others may think of other variations of art, like literature or performing arts.
Regardless of the medium, art has long held its value. Art embodies the cultural and historical context of the time it was created. Vintage art provides us a glimpse into the past, while contemporary art helps us reflect on our own cultural identity.
Paintings
The earliest known paintings line the walls of caves in Western Europe and Indonesia. An art form over 40,000 years old, painting has served as a form of visual storytelling. Early portraiture and scenic landscapes captured moments in time before the invention of photography.
Over time, painting has evolved from capturing history on a canvas. Painting allows emerging artists to explore their artistic expression. Several movements like Modernism, impressionism, pop art, and surrealism were popular styles in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Painters create on many surfaces, including canvas, paper, wood, glass, pottery, and walls. There are also several options for the paint itself, including watercolor, pastel, tempera, oil, and acrylic. In East Asia, artists explore styles with distinct techniques like ink wash painting, gong-bi, and Yamato-e.
Western artists admire the talents of famous painters like Leonardo da Vinci, Andy Warhol, Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, and Pablo Picasso.
Photos, Prints & Lithographs
While photography as we know it originated in the 19th century, the art form began to thrive in the 20th century. Photographers have a unique ability to capture history in ways other media cannot.
Dorthea Lange, best known for her Depression-era work, notably influenced the development of documentary photography. One of the greatest photographers of our time, Annie Leibovitz, is well-known for her portraiture of iconic celebrities.
A unique and meticulous art form, artists create lithographs by drawing a design on a flat stone or metal plate and affixing it with a chemical reaction. Through an intricate process, artists transfer the design to paper prints. While this process became popular in the 18th century, many artists still create original prints through this medium.
While original photos and lithographs often come with a steep price tag, prints are a more affordable option. Artists can convert their photographs, lithographs, and paintings into prints for wide distribution. While prints don’t hold as much value as the original, they make art more accessible to collectors and enthusiasts.
Posters
Initially used for advertising and spreading information, posters quickly became works of art when the printing industry perfected color lithography. As vibrant colors became more frequent in posters, the medium rose in popularity. Poster artists like Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Jules Chéret hit their stride during the Belle Époque movement in the late 19th century.
Posters saw a resurgence in the 1960s when they became more common as decoration in the home. During a time of heightened social tension, many used posters in public settings. Many activists used posters as symbols of protest, while businesses used them for public announcements.
Today, many film fans decorate their space with posters featuring their favorite action movies or cult-classic films. Travelers also collect modern art posters depicting their favorite destinations, and even places they’ve never been.
Sculptures & Statues
From the statues of ancient Egypt to the Gargoyles of Notre Dame, sculptures have played a striking role in culture throughout history. Sculptors take pieces of hard material and carve or mold them into figures and shapes.
Traditional materials, such as those used to make classic sculptures such as Michelangelo’s “David,” include stone, ivory, and wood. However, many contemporary artists have experimented with materials like plastic and found objects.
This type of art commonly finds a home in museums and parks, making it easily accessible to the public. However, small-scale sculptures and busts are a great addition to a personal art collection.
Pottery
Pottery is an ancient art form that has stood the test of time. Historically, pottery was a practical way to create clay pots and dishes. Throughout the years, artists have expanded their craft by creating vases, flowerpots, and figurines.
Pottery styles differ across the globe. Bolesławiec pottery from Poland features intricate designs and traditional patterns. Talavera ceramicists craft pottery from natural clay with a process that can take three to four months.
While both styles have distinct designs and centuries-old techniques, many newer brands have also risen in popularity. Wedgwood, Staffordshire, and McCoy are also brands highly sought after by collectors.
Glass Art
As with pottery, the earliest forms of glass art served practical purposes. Glass blowers made cups and pitchers for drinks and paperweights to prevent pages from blowing away.
Stained glass windows became an integral design in cathedrals in the Middle Ages. The intricate designs depicted Biblical stories for those who could not read Latin. Many modern cathedrals still have stained glass windows adorning their walls.
The process allows for a high degree of customization and artistic expression. Glass blowers can produce several types of art, from intricate sculptures to ornaments and figurines. Famous artists include Tiffany, Lalique, Tiffin, Lenox, Dale Chihuly, Karen LaMonte, Jaroslava Brychtová, and Stanislav Libenský.
Engravings & Etchings
Historians have traced engraving back to prehistoric times with evidence of chiseled designs on bones, ivory, and rock. Over time, the art form expanded, as etching became more popular.
Etching dates to the Middle Ages when metal workers burned designs onto armor, cups, and plates. Historians credit Daniel Hopfer as the first to apply etching to printmaking. Though Hopfer used iron plates, many modern artists made the switch to copper plates.
How To Collect Art Online
Wondering how to invest in art but aren’t sure where to start? With thousands of lots, HiBid is one of the top art auction platforms. Browse for the perfect paintings to fill your empty walls or a suitable vase to display your favorite flowers. Creating your own art gallery is only a few clicks away on HiBid.com.
Sell Art Pieces Online
With over 150 million lots auctioned, you can count on a diverse audience ready to bid. If you have pieces of art to sell or a collection to liquidate, you’ll find that selling with HiBid is easy! Just click the Sell button at the top of any HiBid.com page and enter your contact info and a brief description of what you’d like to sell. Then, we’ll put you in touch with a HiBid auctioneer who can get it done.