First, buy contemporary art. Some of the older carvings can be a good investment only if you are confident that they will increase in value over time. The fact is that they are already old and expensive, so their price will not increase as much as contemporary art. On top of that, there are many ancient Inuit carvings that are simply worth nothing, you really have to be an older Inuit art expert to buy them or you run a great risk of overpaying. With contemporary art, there is comparison, so you can check out similar carvings by the same Inuit artists in different galleries and make sure you are paying fair value.
The best place to buy Inuit art is online Inuit art galleries. You will see that the prices in online galleries are lower than in physical galleries. Real stores have to pay rent, utilities, employee salaries, and have to raise their prices a lot. Inuit art galleries online buy sculptures directly from the artist and do not have any additional costs, they are just an intermediary between you and the artist.
You may be curious if there is a way to cut out the middlemen and buy Inuit art directly from the artists. Unfortunately, it is not that easy, practically impossible. You would have to go to a community in northern Canada yourself. You cannot drive, there are no roads, the only way to get there is by plane. The plane ticket alone will cost you at least $ 2,000. Now once you get to Cape Dorset, Sanikiluaq or any other Inuit community, you need to rent a hotel room, which would cost you $ 200 a night. Then you would have to rent a truck because there is no public transport, you would have to eat something and the food is also expensive. And even after all these expenses, there is no guarantee that you will find sizes to buy. There are times when Inuit communities are completely dry, size wise, because it’s not a season or someone else just bought everything before you. The best time to go on a carving adventure is in the fall, because Inuit artists get their stone in late spring and summer, and there are usually many carvings for sale in the fall season. The worst time to travel would be early spring, as you run a high risk of not finding sizes for sale.
Another tip is to search for well-known artists. Shop for Inuit art from internationally recognized carvers like Nuna Parr, Jimmy Iqaluq or Paul Kavik. Although their art is already quite expensive, you can be sure that it will become even more appreciated in time, especially when they retire from the trade. There are many younger artists whose art is much less expensive than the art of master carvers, but it may be a better investment opportunity to buy them. For example, if you acquire a dancing bear from Noo Atsiaq, who is a promising young artist, you will pay only a fraction of the price compared to the bear from Nuna Parr. However, in just about ten years, Noo Atsiaq will be as famous, if not more so, as Nuna Parr, and he will be able to get a good return on his investment.
One last thing, make sure you like what you are buying. After all, Inuit carvings, like any art, are all about perception. If people don’t like Inuit sculpture in particular, no matter how famous the Inuit artist is, they will have a hard time selling their sculpture for big profit.