I’m a Hoarder, Help!

Okay, not 100% true, but it got you here. I do have a problem, though. I collect vintage posters. My husband and I started this collection twenty-plus years ago and haven’t found a way to stop. Lately, between a recent move and a cluttered room full of posters I am unable to display, I wonder what I should do with them.

We have many on the walls of our house and try to rotate the collection occasionally, but so many other beautiful ones are languishing in storage. If I had unlimited resources, I’d find a space to open my own museum like the Poster House in NYC or MOCA in Westport. I love MOCA’s space, and I recently saw an amazing Swiss poster exhibit there. Alas, I lack the funds to do so.

Since I am not wealthy enough to buy my own museum, I wonder how to find a place that would be interested in exhibiting them. Who even knows how his works or who to contact? I work for Post University, which has a partnership with the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, Connecticut. I loved the Kay Sage exhibition they had in 2025.

Most realistically, I should downsize my collection and sell off pieces that are less meaningful to me. Sadly, I have a hard time doing that. I tried an auction house; they will take a few, but not many, and they mostly look for framed items. So many of my posters are linen-backed and rolled, as framing is expensive.

I’ve also found it’s nearly impossible to find an appraiser to come and provide an estimate of the collection for our homeowner’s insurance. How do I know what to sell when I don’t know the values? Some of the most common ones, like Savignac or Cappiello, are easy to find online, but we have unique and rare ones for which I can’t find much information and need an expert.

Parting with a Fix-Masseau (my personal favorite artist), a Kandinsky, a Warhol, or a Cappiello makes so much sense, but makes me sad. I might have to remain a hoarder after all and hope the collection doesn’t take over every room of the house. All the options raise more questions than answers.

What would you do?