The Cultivated Eye: How Early Exposure Shapes Art Appreciation
- Diamond Zhou
- Mar 15
- 6 min read
welcome to our
SATURDAY EVENING POST
March 15th, 2025
"Let me stop there, but my God, how beautiful Shakespeare is, who else is as mysterious as he is; his language and method are like a brush trembling with excitement and ecstasy. But one must learn to read, just as one must learn to see and learn to live."
— Vincent van Gogh
“One must learn to see”, a deceptively simple phrase encapsulates the essence of art appreciation, it is a process, one that extends beyond the mere act of “looking” and into the realm of understanding, feeling, creating, and maybe, so fortunate enough, to collecting. Those who walk through galleries and instinctively gravitate toward a bold Kandinsky or a quietly luminous Vermeer do so not by accident but by training, whether conscious or unconscious. This ability, often attributed to taste or intuition, is in fact a cultivated sensitivity and sensibility that begins in childhood.
An early introduction to art shapes not only personal aesthetic preferences but also cultural sophistication, intellectual curiosity, and an inclination toward collecting. The idea that childhood exposure to art fosters a lifelong appreciation has been supported by research in psychology, neurology, and economics. This engagement with art from a young age strengthens the brain like a muscle, gives voice to feelings too big for words, builds bridges between people, and ignites creativity that can illuminate any life path. And even if one didn’t get that early start, the magic of art remains within reach at any age, proving it’s truly never too late to pick up a brush and begin or never too late to learn about art and appreciate its value.
The foundation of art appreciation is laid in the formative years. Neurological studies have shown that early exposure to visual complexity enhances cognitive abilities, particularly in pattern recognition, spatial awareness, and emotional intelligence. One long-term study even found that children given intensive arts education (such as music or visual art classes) showed enhanced development in areas of the brain associated with decision-making and learning. The brain, particularly in its most malleable years, forms associations between beauty, emotion, and memory, creating an intrinsic response to visual stimuli that deepens over time.
Children who are introduced to art early, whether through museum visits, exposure to architectural beauty, or even simply growing up in aesthetically rich environments, develop a heightened ability to perceive nuance and detail. A 2020 study published in Frontiers in Psychology found that individuals with frequent childhood exposure to the arts exhibited more sophisticated aesthetic judgments in adulthood, even if they did not become artists themselves. This aligns with the philosophy of 19th-century art critic John Ruskin, who argued that "the greatest thing a human soul ever does in this world is to see something, and tell what it saw in a plain way." The ability to see, in Ruskin’s sense, is mastered through experience, and those who begin early have an undeniable advantage.
Art collecting is more than an accumulation of works, it is an expression of intellect, passion, and personal history. Many great collectors were exposed to art from a young age, allowing them to develop a natural curiosity and refined taste. This phenomenon can be understood through the psychological principle of the “mere exposure effect”. The mere exposure effect is a psychological phenomenon where people tend to develop a preference for things they are exposed to repeatedly. First identified by psychologist Robert Zajonc in the 1960s, the effect suggests that familiarity breeds liking, even in the absence of deep understanding or conscious reasoning. In other words, the more we encounter something, the more we are likely to appreciate or choose it.
In art collecting, this principle explains why individuals who are exposed to certain artistic styles, movements, or historical periods from a young age develop a natural affinity and confidence in their aesthetic preferences. It supports the idea that collectors are not simply born with good taste, but rather that their ability to recognize quality and respond to art is cultivated through repeated exposure.
For instance, a child raised in a home filled with Renaissance paintings may later feel an intuitive draw toward Old Masters, while another raised among contemporary works may easily gravitate toward conceptual or minimalist art. This principle extends beyond personal taste to cultural and societal influences as well. Similarly, individuals from different cultural backgrounds may develop distinct aesthetic inclinations based on the artistic traditions surrounding them. The environment in which one is immersed subtly imprints itself upon aesthetic preference. These early influences not only shape personal taste but also inform the broader collecting trends of a particular cultural or socioeconomic group. Over time, this exposure refines perception, solidifies taste, and informs the collector’s ability to discern artistic merit with confidence and nuance.
This is why heirs to great collecting dynasties often continue the tradition, not merely because of inheritance but because they have absorbed the language of art appreciation from an early age. The Rothschilds, the Rockefellers, and the Gettys all provide examples of families whose collecting habits spanned generations. Even among new collectors, research shows that those who were raised in art-filled environments are more confident in their purchases, better able to distinguish between artistic movements, and more willing to take risks on emerging artists.
Beyond personal enrichment, art appreciation also has economic and social implications at large. Historically, fine art has been a marker of status and cultural capital, a tradition that continues somewhat into today’s age. The ability to “speak the language of art” conveys a level of sophistication that was deeply tied to social standing.
Allan: “That's quite a lovely Jackson Pollock, isn't it?”
Museum Girl: “Yes, it is.”
Allan: “What does it say to you?”
Museum Girl: “It restates the negativeness of the universe. The hideous lonely emptiness of existence. Nothingness. The predicament of Man forced to live in a barren, Godless eternity like a tiny flame flickering in an immense void with nothing but waste, horror and degradation, forming a useless bleak straitjacket in a black absurd cosmos.”
— Dialogue from the iconic scene in Play It Again, Sam
“Speaking the language of art” really means how individuals engage with the cultural and economic landscape of the art world. Fine art has carried significance beyond its aesthetic value, it has been a way for people to connect with history, innovation, and human creativity. It is really about engagement, to interpret and appreciate art with fluency, similar to how one might learn a spoken language. This fluency allows collectors, curators, and enthusiasts to navigate the art world with confidence, distinguish quality from trend, and articulate why certain works resonate with them. It is not about exclusivity, but about developing a visual and intellectual sensitivity to art through exposure and experience.
Fluency in art begins with immersion. Early exposure to art fosters confidence in collecting by making the art world more familiar, less intimidating, and more personally meaningful. One of the most common barriers for new collectors is the fear of making an uninformed purchase. Those who have engaged with art from an early age, whether through museum visits, family discussions, or personal curiosity, often develop an intuitive sense of what speaks to them. This experience allows them to move beyond trends, trust their own eye, and make acquisitions that reflect their own sensibilities rather than external pressures. For many collectors, this confidence is what transforms an initial curiosity into a lifelong passion.
Collectors often speak of a “gut feeling” when selecting works, but this instinct is rarely innate, it is shaped by years of looking, studying, and comparing. Art dealers curator, seasoned collectors, and artists themselves spend years mastering their ability to detect the nuances that distinguish an authentic masterpiece from an uninspired derivative.
Art is ultimately about connection, between the collector and the work, between history and the present, between artist and observer. Those who have grown up with art often approach collecting with a deeper sense of engagement and purpose, and because they understand that each acquisition is a dialogue. And in a world where collecting is becoming more accessible than ever, the greatest advantage a collector can have is not status, but a well-trained eye and a passion for discovery.
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Contact: Farzina Coladon