Micallef Self-Portrait - DailyMail, by Daniel Silk on Oct 12, 2008 12:39:37 GMT 1, Whole story - www.dailymail.co.uk/money/article-1076665/If-resist-temptation-drown-sorrows-bottle-fine-wine-prove-better-bet-shares.html

In 2003, Kevin Ford and his wife, Yvonne Quinn, paid £3,000 for a self-portrait by British artist Antony Micallef for their office in Leicester where they run a training and development business.

Looking good: Kevin Ford with a self-portrait by Antony Micallef

Micallef was little-known at the time, but his work is now exhibited around the world, including at Tate Britain in London. From next month one of his sculptures will be on show at the Royal Academy in London.

Actors Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Jude Law and Robin Williams as well as artist Damien Hirst are among the celebrities who own Micallef's work. Some of his pieces sell for more than £100,000.

Kevin, 52, who was advised to buy the painting at the Affordable Art Fair in London by a former employee who is a fine arts graduate, says: 'We really liked the piece. We wanted something bright and uplifting for our office. We weren't really thinking of it as an investment and I had not heard of Micallef.

'I have other art works as well as investments, including property, equity funds and, of course, our business, but it turns out that the Micallef painting could be worth £30,000.'

The Affordable Art Fair is held twice a year in Battersea Park, south London. Entry costs £10 in advance or £12 on the day. The next is from October 23 to 26.

Affordable Art Fairs are also held in Bristol, New York, Brussels and Amsterdam. All works are priced at less than £3,000. For more information visit affordableartfair.com.

Other places to search for contemporary original art include this week's Frieze Festival (friezeart fair.com) in Regent's Park, central London, and website New Blood Art (newbloodart.com).

But Will Ramsay, founder of the Affordable Art Fair, says Kevin Ford was lucky and art buyers should not purchase works expecting them to rocket in value. 'Don't go to the fair looking to buy an investment,' he says. 'Some works will increase in value, many won't.

'Buy something because you want to hang it on your wall. If it turns out to be a lucky find and the artist goes on to great things, well that's a bonus.'

For investors with a bit more cash to spend - starting at £50,000 - the Fine Art Fund, run by former Christie's auction house expert Philip Hoffman, will give you exposure to the top end of the fine art market.

The fund buys and trades in a wide range of works by artists such as Canaletto, Picasso and Hirst as well as ancient Chinese, Indian and Middle Eastern art.

There is a 1.5 per cent initial fee and an annual management fee of two per cent, but the returns are strong at 23 per cent per year on average. Hoffman says: 'The top end of the market hasn't suffered despite the global economic downturn. Values are robust and rising.'

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' Arts and Antiques survey for the third quarter of 2008 shows that while spending is slowing at auction in the up to £5,000 sector, sales in the £50,000-plus bracket remain strong, with 39 per cent more surveyors reporting a rise in prices.

But some experts believe the bubble in the high end of the art market could be about to burst as a result of the global crisis and warn investors to go in with their eyes open.