Rave reviews for the “Investing in Art” lecture by Dr. Curtis Carter.

Dr. Carter provided a command performance for the students in the AIM and Alternative Investments classes on March 9, 2016

Dr. Curtis Carter

On Wednesday, March 9, the students in Dr. Krause’s Alternative Investments and AIM classes were visited by Dr. Curtis Carter. According to Krause, “Dr. Carter’s lecture on both the personal and the societal importance of the visual and performing arts was greatly appreciated by the students. His lecture included material on ‘art as an investment,' which students found fascinating.” 

Curtis Carter and David Krause

Dr. Carter is a professor of Philosophy at Marquette University, where his concentration is on aesthetics. He received a PhD from Boston University. Krause added, “Dr. Carter has accomplished much in his career; however, I believe his most significant achievement at Marquette has been the creation of the Patrick and Beatrice Haggerty Museum of Art.  Dr. Carter was the founding director from 1984-2007 and he is responsible for its incredible success. The Haggerty Museum has built a greater appreciation for the arts in the Milwaukee and Marquette University community.”

His lecture in Dr. Krause’s classes included information about the “smartest ways to invest in art.” Here are some of his major points about investing in art:

• Buy Out of Style

“The art market is cyclical”—artists go in and out of fashion, but so long as they are/were talented enough, and were popular enough, there’s a good chance that they will be back in style. 

• Buy Obscure but Important

Some collecting categories are improbably affordable because few people know about them.

• Buy Outside the Narrative

The worth of a work is often tied to its art-historical significance. Yet, pieces that fall out of that historical narrative can be found for an outstanding bargain.

Should you invest in art?

Dr. Carter serves as an associate professor at Marquette University's Les Aspin Center in Washington DC. At the Aspin Center, he teaches a class titled "Arts in a Democratic Society", through which he attempts to integrate the importance of the arts in a Democratic society. The class consists of tours of art museums, historical landmarks and buildings in the DC area, visits to performances at the Kennedy Center. He also teaches several classes on the philosophy of art on Marquette’s campus.

Dr. Carter’s course in the Philosophy of Art again will be taught on campus in the Fall 2016 semester – in addition to his Arts in a Democratic Society course at the Les Aspin.

Dr. Krause said, “I encourage my students to take his class in the Fall. This is an outstanding course and it usually fills quickly – so sign up soon. Also I know that in the Spring semester of 2017 he will be offering course on arts/aesthetics and city life – which will include an April 2017 conference with national and international speakers. We are thankful that he visited our classes this week.”