Ironically, popular art isn't always easy for most people to access.

This is because historically, art collecting has been a luxury asset class reserved for the rich. But a new investment platform Freeport will offer four works by Andy Warhol this May, with ownership shared for up to 1,000 lots via tokenized securities, or NFTs, according to a recent press release.

Incredibly, the buy-in price for each tokenized lot will span from $250 to $860, opening a new means for young investors to enter the art market via NFTs.

Freeport is a blockchain-based platform launching in April that allows people to invest in fine art, and its first offering is an exclusive collection of four prints from acclaimed pop artist Andy Warhol. Freeport’s press release revealed that the four works were "partially acquired" from well-known art collectors, including the art collector and film producer Jane Holzer. The collection will include prints of some of Warhol's most famous works, including "Marilyn" (1967), "Double Mickey" (1981), "Mick Jagger" (1975), and "Rebel Without a Cause (James Dean)" (1985). Each piece will consist of 10,000 shares, with a minimum requirement of 10 shares per individual. Thus, each piece can be owned by 1,000 people at most.

This news comes after Freeport announced that it was cleared by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to fractionalize shares of fine artworks in the form of security tokens that will exist on the Ethereum blockchain. Dave Hendricks, CEO and co-founder of digital asset management tool Vertalo, told CoinDesk that Freeport will use Vertalo to tokenize the artworks so they can interact with platforms designed for decentralized finance (DeFi), which could offer even more opportunities for people who get their hands on a piece of a Warhol.

It's extremely reassuring that traditional art can interact with the blockchain ecosystem in this way, namely because it lowers barriers-entry- for people who are interested in investing in art but lack an aesthetic and cultural grasp of different NFTs. Furthermore, widening the gateway to art trading will grant young investors the joys, privileges, and opportunities afforded by such valuable assets.

But the Freeport platform aims to go beyond being just an investment platform. It will also invest in facilitating community experiences, so that members can interact with the pieces they invest in. For example, collectors can display their pieces in a high-resolution personal gallery, select custom frames, and view and interact with other community members’ galleries via comments, likes, and more.

"As more and more value moves on-chain, fractionalized art is increasingly being sought after by a younger, yet less financially flexible, class of investors," said Colin Johnson, CEO and co-founder of Freeport, in the press release. "Our platform goes far beyond just fractionalizing shares of fine art into security tokens – we've built a fully immersive and interactive platform hosting an art-centric community and redefining the ownership experience surrounding fractionalized art."

The Warhol collection is scheduled to launch in May, though interested collectors are welcome to join the waitlist now. According to the website, the starting price for a lot (10 shares) will span from $250 to $860, depending on the piece.

In the last two years, NFT sales have broken records time and again, with some like CryptoPunks and Bored Apes reaching the multi-millions. While this market has been exciting for many, it has left others feeling like collecting NFT art is too hard and expensive to be within reach. Fractionalized NFTs bring new opportunities to invest in art at a more affordable price point, and, more importantly, to take their first steps toward building wealth.