Investing in Artwork Bought Online – Risks & Rewards
Investing in Artwork Bought Online – Risks & Rewards
As the online art market continues to flourish, buying original artwork through digital galleries has become a popular route—not only for decoration, but also as a form of investment. Platforms like Mojarto have opened up access to both established and emerging Indian artists, broadening the horizons for collectors.
However, like any investment, buying artwork online comes with its share of rewards and risks. Here’s a comprehensive look at both sides.
Before diving into risks & rewards, it helps to understand why more people are investing in art online, particularly Indian art.
Access & Selection: Compared to physical galleries, online platforms offer a far wider variety of works—from traditional Madhubani and Warli to contemporary abstract, figurative, and experimental art. Mojarto, for example, showcases works by master as well as emerging artists.
Discovery of Emerging Talent: Buyers get to see and purchase works by newer artists who may not yet have wide gallery exposure.
Convenience: Browsing from home, comparing styles, prices, etc., without needing to travel to galleries. High-resolution images, sometimes videos, make that possible.
Potential for Appreciation: Art from emerging artists often has lower entry cost but higher relative growth potential if the artist becomes better known.
Lower Barriers to Entry
You don’t need to live in an art hub or have connections to collectors. Online platforms democratize access. New collectors may start with smaller, affordable pieces before scaling up.
Diversification
Art investment is not correlated in the same way with stocks or real estate. Having art in your portfolio may help spread risk, especially if pieces have aesthetic value besides market value.
Potential for High Returns
If you pick the right artist early, the value of their works may increase significantly. Emerging Indian artists featured on Mojarto are examples, gaining recognition and possibly appreciation.
Emotional & Aesthetic Value
Aside from financial return, art enriches spaces, evokes feelings, reflects culture. Even if an artwork doesn’t skyrocket in price, the enjoyment may be worthwhile.
Resale and Global Markets
Some online platforms facilitate secondary sales or work with collectors globally, making it easier to resell or showcase your collection.
Authenticity Concerns
Without seeing a piece in person, it’s harder to verify authenticity, provenance, condition (e.g. canvas, framing, pigment aging). Online images and descriptions may not capture everything.
Colour/Textural Discrepancies
What you see on the screen may differ from real life—colour calibration, lighting, photo angles can skew expectations. Slight colour shifts are common. Mojarto acknowledges this.
Limited Physical Inspection
Quality of materials, texture, brush-strokes, weight, smell (for certain materials) are all harder to assess remotely.
Shipping, Insurance, & Hidden Costs
Shipping fragile artworks is risky and often expensive. Import/export rules, customs duties and insurance can add to cost. Damages during transport are possible.
Liquidity & Resale Uncertainty
Art isn’t as liquid as stocks. Finding a buyer may take time; resale price depends heavily on artist reputation, market trends. There may not always be demand.
Market Volatility & Trends
Certain art styles or artists may be in vogue now, but tastes change. What’s highly prized today might lose favour. Trends in Indian art—what’s trending among buyers in 2025 may not hold similarly in later decades.
Risk of Overpayment or Fraud
Especially for high value works, without rigorous documentation, there is risk of counterfeit or misattributed works, or overpaying.
To make art investing online safer, one should:
Do diligent research: Study the artist’s background, past sales, exhibitions, galleries. Platforms that provide biographies, provenance, previous auction history are more reliable.
Request detailed documentation: High resolution photographs from multiple angles, condition reports, certificate of authenticity.
Use trusted platforms: Ones with good reputations, clear return policies, advisory or curator support. Mojarto, in its blog, emphasizes assistance in selecting, detailed images/videos etc to reduce uncertainty.
Insurance & Secure Shipping: Always insure expensive pieces, get reliable packaging, understand customs & duties if buying internationally.
Start small: Buy lower-cost pieces first to understand how online art buying works. Observe how works arrive, how they behave over time.
Understand your aims: Are you collecting for pleasure, decor, or investment? If primarily for investment, you’ll want pieces by artists with growing recognition, museum shows, academic interest etc.
Some markers:
Emerging artists with strong academic/training credentials or exhibitions
Those who are being featured, reviewed, or are gaining press, awards etc.
Scarcity & Originality
Limited-edition works, unique pieces, or styles not saturated in market.
Quality of workmanship & materials
Good substrate (canvas, paper), archival materials, proper framing etc will preserve value.
Trends & Cultural Relevance
As seen in Indian art: growing interest in Indian mythological themes, nature, folk forms reinterpreted, as well as abstract/contemporary fusion.
Investing in art bought online is a double-edged sword: the possibilities are exciting, but the pitfalls are real. Platforms like Mojarto illustrate how this can be done more safely—they offer access, transparency, and assistance to buyers. However, as with all investments, you must treat it thoughtfully: balancing risk vs reward, doing homework, and buying what you love (so even if it doesn’t appreciate greatly, its value to you is more than just monetary).