The Exec. Director of the Drawing Center Museum Tells Us How to Start Collecting

By Reena Jana
February 7, 2011

Brett Littman, the executive director of The Drawing Center in New York’s SoHo neighborhood, has an enviable job—not to mention a jealousy-inducing personal collection of contemporary art and design objects.

As the head of the only not-for-profit fine arts institution in the United States that focuses solely on the art of drawing, Brett Littman works with his staff curate highly original art exhibitions to promote emerging talents, encourage public discourse and recognize great artwork from the past. The most recent show at New York's Drawing Center, “Day Job,” displayed work by up-and-coming artists who created pieces that address their non-art, bill-paying occupations; the New York Times called it “entertaining and sociologically intriguing.” The upcoming exhibition, “Drawn from Photography” (February 18th through March 31), features drawings by well-known contemporary artists such as D-L Alvarez and Sam Durant, who reinterpret images from photographs in their hand-drawn works.

Brett Littman spends considerable time traveling around the globe researching not only the work of today’s art stars, but also historical artworks from different eras. (He also manages to scoop up the occasional piece for his own collection.) Recently, he worked with the Istituto Nazionale per la Grafica (ING) in Rome to put together a show of breathtaking, hand-engraved Italian metal plates from the 16th to the 21st centuries, used to create art prints. The exhibition will debut at the Drawing Center’s New York gallery in April.

Brett Littman filled us in on his own art collections and offered tips on how to buy artwork.

The Drawing Center and Exhibitions

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The Drawing Center Exterior
Day Job (December 10, 2010-February 3, 2011).

Photo Credit: Cathy Carver
Leon Golub: Live & Die Like a Lion? (April 23-July 23, 2010).

Photo Credit: Cathy Carver
Ree Morton: At the Still Point of the Turning Word (September 18-December 18, 2009).

Photo Credit: Cathy Carver.
Drawn from Photography: Ewan Gibbs, From the Empire State Building, 2003. Pencil on graph paper, 11 3/4 x 8 3/8 inches. Collection Glenn and Amanda Fuhrman NY.
Photo Credit: courtesy the FLAG Art Foundation
Drawn from Photography: Frank Selby, Light Blue Riot, 2010. Watercolor on mylar, 18 x 24 inches.
Photo Credit: courtesy of the artist and Museum 52
Day Job: Raul J Mendez, b. 1973 Caracas, Venezuela. Lives and works in Miami, FL.
Vexingly Placeless, 2007.
Mixed media on paper
24 1/2 x 22 inches
Roberto Osti, b. 1959 in Bologna, Italy. Lives and works in Bloomfield, NJ
Shaman in Spring, 2008
Watercolor on paper
78 x 52 inches

The Inside Source: For budding art collectors, drawings can be an affordable way to build a collection. What advice can you give on researching drawings by well-known artists?

Brett Littman: Go to the galleries that show the artists you like and ask to see drawings [as opposed to paintings, which can be more expensive].

Build a library of books on artist’s drawings—some that I recommend are Vitamin D published by Phaidon, Drawing Now: Eight Propositions or Drawing From the Collection, both published by MoMA, or any of The Drawing Center’s publication, Drawing Papers, might be good places to start if you are interested in contemporary drawing.

I have the luxury of going on many studio visits and often get shown drawings that have not hit the marketplace yet. When I was in Argentina I meet the artist Matias Duville and was so taken with his work that I negotiated to buy 4 drawings right off the wall. Sometimes impulsive buying trumps research.

Artists' editions, such as prints and multiples, can also be a wonderful way to purchase work by well-known artists at prices that fit a first-time art collector’s budget.

Brett Littman

Brett Littman is with his wife, Kara Vander Weg, displaying their collection of 1950's dishware

The Inside Source: Can you give us an example or two from your personal art collection?

I started my art collection by buying a William Kentridge print for about $600 from David Krut, Kentridge’s South African publisher, in 2001. I have continued to buy prints from by Ed Ruscha, Shazia Sikander, and James Sienna over the years. The New York Art Book Fair at MoMA PS1 (which takes place each November in New York) is a great place for research as well as one-stop shopping. Also, most major print publishers like Pace Prints, Gemini, ULAE, Ken Tyler, Lower East Side Print Shop and Dieu Donne Papermill have extensive websites listing artists and inventory.

The Inside Source: Can you tell us about one of your favorite works of art?

Brett Littman: The artist Jim Hodges and Dieu Donne Papermill gave me a work when I left as the director of that space in 2003. It is a beautiful tin foil on paper piece and one that I really treasure. My wife and I have it hanging in our entrance hallway—it is the first thing I look at every day when I come home.

The Inside Source: Clearly, the art collection in one's home makes up a very personal collection. But can giving a work of art be an appropriate gift?

Brett Littman: Absolutely. My wife and I, on several occasions, have bought artwork as a wedding gift. Of course it is hard to match the gift receiver’s aesthetics with a suitable piece, but it's well worth it when you get right. It’s possible to purchase inexpensive original works of art for under $1,000 or even for under $500. I would suggest looking at drawings, photography, and prints. In other words, works on paper. The key to giving art as a gift is that you just need to stockpile pieces and wait for the right person and moment to give it away.

The Inside Source: Do you collect anything else besides artwork?

Brett Littman: I love collecting 1950's dishware, silverware and glassware. Right now we have about 10 full sets of plates, cups, and bowls by most of the major American and Scandinavian industrial designers like Ben Seibel, Eva Zeisel, Russell Wright, Alvar Aalto, Kaj Franck and pieces by companies like Rörstrand, Orrefors, George Jensen and iittala. I was inspired to collect dishware by my former boss, John Perreault, and his partner Jeff Weinstein, who have more than 5000 assorted dishes in their basement in their Long Island country home. What I love about this collection is that parts of it can be used every day and for entertaining friends and colleagues. People really enjoy eating from these dishes and it always is a great conversation starter at our dinner parties.

We also added to our collection when we got married and registered for some unique dishes by the Dutch designer Hella Jongerius, tea cups by Isamu Noguchi and a cookware set by Marc Newsom. We also encourage family and friends to be on the lookout for pieces that we collect on eBay, at flea markets and at antique malls.

The Inside Source: And what are you hunting for these days on eBay online auctions, both for yourself and for curatorial purposes?

Brett Littman: Well my eBay perusing is mostly not related to artwork. I love old cars and often check the prices on some possible fantasy purchases like a 1962 Corvair convertible, 1960s Ford Falcons and 1964-68 Porsche 912s. I also sometimes look at the prices of furniture and design objects by Russell Wright American Modern, Eva Zeisel Town and Country and anything made by Tamac.

Want to build a personal art collection that’s as stylish as art-world insider Brett Littman’s? Here, we take his lead and track down objects that he recommends—and wants—on eBay.

(photos courtesy of Brett Littman)

Drawing Now: Eight Propositions, by Laura Hoptman

(buy it now price, $24.94)

Littman suggests getting a bit of an education before starting to build a collection. He says this book, published as the catalogue for a show of contemporary drawings at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in the early 2000s, is a good place to begin.
Ed Ruscha Signed Print

(buy it now price, $3,750)

Think you can’t afford a signed work of art by an artist whose work is often seen in museum collections? Think again. Look for prints, just as Littman has done himself. This print by Ed Ruscha, a world-renowned American artist, is less than $4,000. While certainly not cheap, it's a lot more affordable than a Ruscha painting.
Ellsworth Kelly Print

(buy it now price, $9,500)

Even as a museum director, Littman often works with a limited budget. Recently, he advised a museum in the U.K. to purchase a work on paper by the important American artist Ellsworth Kelly—whose paintings can fetch millions at auction houses. This print is under $10,000.
Billy Sullivan Ink on Paper Drawing

(buy it now price, $450)

Littman advises that beginning collectors start with drawings, which can be found for under $500, such as this signed ink drawing by Billy Sullivan, whose work is in the collections of MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Alvar Aalto Bowl

(buy it now price, $40)

As a collector of not just art, Littman, along with his wife, is building a collection of dinnerware by iconic designers such as Alvar Aalto, who created this classic and unusual bowl.
Russell Wright American Modern Covered Dish

(buy it now price, $74.99)

Littman also frequently checks on eBay the prices of pieces by his favorite designers, such as Russell Wright, who designed this covered dish. Littman asks family and friends to be on the lookout for pieces by favorite designers on eBay as well—and to let him know that they’re available!
1962 Ford Falcon

(buy it now price, $11,995)

Littman admits to searching for his “fantasy” cars on eBay, such as this 1960s Ford Falcon. It’s not a museum artwork, technically, but it would certainly make a collector of beautiful objects proud.