Q: I inherited a painting from my father. He used to do pro bono legal work for artists and this painting was given to him by one of the artists who he helped. The artist is pretty well known now-- he was hardly known at all when he gave the painting to my father. Since he wasn't famous then, does that make my painting worth less than the ones he does now?

A: It's worth more. Early works are usually worth more and are more collectible than later ones whether the artists become famous or not. This is true for several reasons. From a historical standpoint, early works tell us the most about how an artist's mature style evolved. From collectible and economic standpoints, the majority of the earliest pieces are usually in museums, private collections, or in the families of the artists and are not available for sale. On those infrequent occasions when one comes back onto the market, the competition to buy it can be fierce and the selling price high. Later works, on the other hand, tend to be more plentiful and easier to get.

Early art also tends to be more energized and passionate. When artists are younger in inexperienced, they don't really know where they're going, where they'll end up, what the future holds, or how their art will be received. Later, however, they become established in their careers, settled in their lives, get accustomed to creating art with a certain look, and know exactly what and how much they have to produce in order to satisfy their collector bases. As artists advance in their careers, the uncertainty and excitement is taken out of the mix and, at worst, making art becomes more of an assembly line process than a creative one.

As is the case with artists' early works, works of art that are identified with the onset of important art movements are more collectible than later pieces done in those same styles. For example, an abstract expressionist painting dating from 1943 tends to be more valuable than one dating from 1958. Once again, early examples are more historically significant because they illustrate how the movements evolved. They exemplify risk taking and experimentation and were often created in hostile atmospheres and against prevailing styles and schools of the day. Early impressionist or modernist works, for example, are highly prized by museums and collectors and command hefty prices. As more and more artists adopt a style, the art becomes more plentiful, more repetitive, and less desirable. Early pieces are leaders; later ones are followers.