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Foreword - You will readily understand that when the contract was signed for this book I felt a pleasant sense of satisfaction. On the day following the affixing of signatures to the necessary covenants of publishing, I lunched with an old friend. Naturally, I was anxious to convey news of my work-in-progress. Nor could I have expected a more interested audience.

Acknowledgments - It is hereby acknowledged that a great many persons aided me in the writing of this book. It is my good fortune that the alphabet is so constructed that I can place Seymour Adelman and George Bortin at the head of my list. George's assistance was indeed singular in its variety, range, and generosity. Seymour's counsel was also invaluable. Others, not listed here, will be found mentioned in the pages ahead.

01. Your A.Q. - In our search for worthwhile works of art, we will constantly encounter the question of beauty. This is not a word which permits a single, direct definition. It is tinted on all sides by individual ideas, moods, tastes, lives. Yet you must have some tangible guides as to what is beautiful, and consequently what to look for as you start, and build, your collection.

02. Art Forms - At some point in any new undertaking there comes the time when you must make a sharp, decisive step. If you have been reading the seed catalogues and the garden pages all winter, the crucial hour arrives for setting out the seedlings. If you have been studying a better approach to the green, there is a perfect moment in the first spring sun to get outside for a few practice shots with the niblick.

03. Is It Art? - When you finally decide on a course of action, all the usual psychological blocks are bound to occur. Where shall I begin? Have I a right to make a choice, based on any sensible guides? Is a piece of ceramics a work of art? Is a piece of Tiffany glass? Is a rug designed by Matisse? Should I buy a painting ... a print ... a drawing?

04. Ready to Buy - When you have developed your incipient "A.Q." to the point where you are ready to buy, it is time to set yourself some general goal.

A highly personal factor now enters the scene. You will buy the pictures to hang on your walls and to enjoy for your­self; they will be chosen to provide beautiful objects for your family and friends. It is thus evident that you will have to de­pend a great deal on your personal knowledge and tastes

05. Buy Later - Like taking your first ride in an airplane, the virgin visit to an art gallery might give you a few tremors. For art dealers and art galleries have had a vivid and varied press. Opinions of them range from the thought that all art emporia are "rogues' galleries" indeed, to the expression by F. J. Mather, Jr., in his Concerning Beauty, that without the art dealer there could be no art today. Because, he explains, it was the dealer who sustained and encouraged the artist from the 18th century on, when the patronage of church and royalty failed him.

06. Galleries - In order to get you started out among the galleries on as sure a footing as possible, I sent a questionnaire to leading estab­lishments in New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago. This questionnaire asked for the gal­lery's name and address; its chief stock in trade—or field in which it specializes; a list of the leading artists represented; and the starting prices for various media—oils, prints, water colors, drawings, and sculpture. At the end of the question­naire was a request that the gallery owner set down, in his own words, his gallery's "point of view."

07. Added Touch - If you follow our cardinal rule . . . and buy pictures or sculp­ture only because you like them . . . you'll naturally be anx­ious to present them at their best. This means the happy choice of frame, mat, or mounting. There's a rule here, too: never give the frame greater emphasis than its contents! It is wise to remember that, in making your selection, you should think not only of the picture itself in relation to how you frame it; but you should also think of all your pictures in relation to each other.

08. Protect It - Some day in the not-too-distant future you will take a long fond look at your collection and realize that you have quite a valuable assemblage. You will also recognize that it is there­fore subject to risk. But this is a cloud with a bright silver lining. It is a worry you can readily turn over to better worriers than you. Just call on an insurance company to protect you against fire, theft, damage, or breakage.

09. Te Picture Ahead - Since I dropped several hints that I would give important con­sideration to the matter of money in collecting, you must be nervously wondering if I plan to evade the issue. So now let us talk dollars for just a few pages. You have probably recognized that there is often a strange reluctance to mix art and money—in conversation or in putting your collection to­gether. Many believe our thoughts should be on a higher plane. I disagree.

10. New Frontiers - The following story is taken from a recent issue of The Ital­ian Scene published under the supervision of the Italian Em­bassy:

"An American roared into the village of Castelnuovo sul Volturno in the Molise mountains recently and bought a painted canvas from a peasant. Unasked, he paid a thousand dollars for it, leaving the village steeped in awe.

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