As a collector, I learn about art in three ways:

(1) Books, as many as possible, my house has more books than summer flies. Whenever I need to research a topic, I grab 2-3 books, read through them, and mark names/terms.

These 7 books are great:

magazine.artland.com/7-essential-books-on-collecting-art/

(1) Very good, non-biased art magazine reviews at current art world; eliminate any articles containing the words "partner content".

I find ArtForum, ArtinAmerica, and Guardian to have the most knowledgeable and thorough art reviews.

www.artforum.com/print/reviews/201703/matt-johnson-66694

(3) Videos about art that are longer than 30 minutes. Before diving in, I establish an interest. Cindy Sherman is my favorite artist -- I start with her panel talks, listen to them while I do chores, work or go about my day, then move on to others.

youtube.com/watch?v=kQ-Ye4VQL5U

(4) Auction evening sales can be a very useful way to learn about the evolution of art over the years.

I will begin by reading through a Christie's evening sale catalog, then researching any artists I don't know.

Art is my drug of choice.

www.christies.com/en/auction/post-war-and-contemporary-art-evening-sale-21620/

(5) Be aware of art exhibitions happening in cities like Berlin, New York, London, and Los Angeles.

I do this through the ArtForum galleries section.

Find out who's coming to the art scene and which artists are exhibiting.

Read the show statement.

www.artforum.com/artguide/place/new-york

(6) Visit the majority of contemporary art museums within 100 miles of my home, stop by works that interest me, and read the description or essay about the work verbatim.

At first, I may not understand everything, but I read it word by word, take pictures, and Google it.

(7) Visit expensive art book stores/websites like Phaidon and Taschen. They are known for art books, including many that are not archived on the internet from artists' studios, and words written by art historians.

These books will cover from cave painting to contemporary.

Art collecting as a life-long education.

Collecting art without peer pressure will require a lot of time of slowing down, reading, learning and researching.