The hammer has gone down and the adrenaline is pumping – you have bought your first work of art. But when the excitement wears off, and the costs stack up, many inexperienced buyers can regret being over-zealous with the paddle.

The cost of managing an art collection can vary widely but could add up to between 1% and 5% of the value of the works annually - depending on whether you are talking about a single work of art or an entire collection, according to Annelien Bruins, founder of London-based Bruins Private Collections Consultancy. If you are making regular purchases and therefore have to take into account transaction costs and taxes, then costs can rise to 15% of the value of the collection, says Bruins.