For those of you interested in collecting John Alvin’s work, here are a few ideas/suggestions.
Obviously it will depend on how much you have to spend how you can begin and what you can design in the way of a collection. There are still images from some of John’s projects that aren’t quite as high as the price of say, an original Star Wars piece George Lucas says no thank you to, and that’s a really good way to start.
If you have champagne taste and a watery budget, reprinted posters are a good way to go, because at least you can have his designs to enjoy. However, you can often still find originals of his movie posters, which is exciting. Sometimes an event like Celebration or the Comic-Con happens and there will be a special limited edition with a a really low edition size that you can buy of John’s for less than $200.
Of course the real action is in always the originals, so it’s a good idea to check and see if there is any art from your favorite movies, you might be surprised that there’s still something from it to buy… and one good original piece is worth lots of limited editions! (Although LEs are another way to go if you totally love, say, The Lord of the Rings!)
Some folks like to focus on one movie or genre when they collect John’s original work. I certainly know lots of collectors who only collect sci-fiĀ or horror or magical images. But I, for example, go completely by image when I collect. I haven’t even seen Quest for Camelot but I have a gorgeous graphite from it that I love. So sometimes you just have to see what’s available.
Your best choice is to buy John’s work from ArtInsights, as I’ve had a lot of clients say that it’s really hard to find art and buy it person to person out there. I think for now John is so hot, it’s hard not to find anyone who wants to sell anything.
Good luck and if you have any questions about collecting John Alvin, shoot them out at me and I’ll see if I can find an answer.