Art collecting requires a bit of an investment. A painting may cost more than cheese puffs, but not necessarily more than a very good bottle of wine. ~ Glen Helfand

For me, it began in Dyfed, Wales with a pair of brass candlesticks that might have been used by the characters in my favorite 19th century European novels. Total cost: under $100.

For Dimitri Mavrommatis, who recently spent $1.4 million for a pair of armchairs by master furniture designer, Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, it began in New York City. The financier says that it was at the Metropolitan Museum that he “had a kind of crash . . . I told myself if I were ever lucky enough in my life, I would start collecting.”