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National and Lifestyle - 8th Feb 2005 40% OF US EXPECT TO SPEND MORE ON ART IN 2005 THAN 2004 WITH 78% OF POTENTIAL BUYERS USING THE INTERNET TO FIND GOOD QUALITY ARTThe British public’s love of interior design and style looks set to grow as a new survey reveals that 40% of us will be spending more on art to adorn our walls in 2005 than in 2004. The majority (56%) expect to spend up to £2,500 on art, while 8% are going to spend in excess of £5,000. The survey was commissioned by the Online British Art Gallery – a new service launched today which is the most comprehensive art search engine available on the net. It enables buyers to search for art held by the galleries who subscribe to the service and exhibit their art on the site. At time of launch, 45 galleries from all over the UK from Inverness to Padstow are displaying artwork on www.obag.co.uk. The service is free for potential buyers who can search for pieces of art using 14 different criteria, such as galleries most local to them, individual artist or by the type of art they want, such as still life or watercolour. Once a buyer has found a piece of art they are interested in the site enables them to discover the name of the gallery selling the piece. They then contact the gallery direct to arrange to view the piece in person, either using the contact information on the screen or via links to each gallery’s own website. Iain Cross, Managing Director and founder of The Online British Art Gallery commented “It’s effectively on-line art dating – we act as matchmaker by providing the facilities to get the initial introduction underway. It’s up to each gallery to develop the relationship directly with the buyer and make a date to view the art in person. Serious art buyers don’t want to buy art on-line, but they do want to use the internet to research and locate it – the fact that 78% of respondents in our survey used the internet to research art demonstrates there is strong demand for this new service”. When asked what they perceived as the main advantage of the service offered by the Online British Art Gallery, 38% thought it was time saved by not having to access the web-sites of individual art galleries. 23% thought it was the ability to tailor the search using any of the 14 criteria available and 27% thought it was the ability to get to know the art galleries in their local region. The service has something for experienced art buyers and complete beginners alike. For beginners there is an educational section describing the history of art, art styles, materials and commonly-used vocabulary. For more seasoned buyers or collectors there is the ability to search on individual artists. Art buyers have the reassurance that all galleries listed on the site have a retail presence and are both established and reputable. Iain Cross concluded “I believe the Online British Art Gallery will quickly become an essential service for art buyer and seller alike – the internet equivalent of a 365 day good quality Art Fair!” ENDS For more information please contact: Sally Brown pressoffice@obag.co.uk Notes to Editors About the Online British Art Gallery (www.obag.co.uk) Launched in February 2005, The Online British Art Gallery (www.obag.co.uk) is the most comprehensive art search engine available on the net. It is an on-line art dating service with the sole goal of introducing interested buyers to art galleries that are exhibiting specific works of interest. Art galleries located around the UK display their art on the site. Potential buyers register to join the service and can then search for pieces of art using 14 different criteria, such as galleries most local to them, individual artist or by the type of art they want, such as still life or watercolour. Once a buyer has found a piece of art they are interested in the site enables them to discover the name of the gallery selling the piece. They then contact the gallery direct to arrange to view the piece in person, either using the contact information on the screen or via links to each gallery’s own website. The gallery then arranges for the buyer to view the art and is responsible for making any sale directly with the buyer. The Online British Art Gallery has been designed for researching and locating art, but not buying art on the internet. About the survey The survey was conducted at the London Art Fair on 22nd and 23rd January and attracted 80 respondents.
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