By Shellie Karabell, Former Contributor May 24, 2016,11:30pm EDT Source: Forbes
Photo / Image Source: Abstract Watercolor #26 - Shidonna Raven Fine Art & Giclees.
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Maastricht 12 March 2016, The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) - AXA Corporate Collections Symposium.... [+]
One of the earliest references to art collection can be found in the Bible: King Saul commissioning songs from David’s lyre. In the millennia since then, art patronage and collecting is a veritable history of culture, with collecting and patronage of the arts practiced as a social institution. Indeed, in Florence of the 15th and 16th centuries, patronage of the arts was not an option; it was a civic duty… and it was a key to social status, a means of preserving the family name, of exculpating some of the blame inherent in vast wealth. The list of names of both artists and patrons throughout history is long and legendary: the Medicis, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Shakespeare, Mozart… even the scientist Galileo.
Monarchs, Municipalities, and the Church made vast investments of their own to promote the arts. Catherine DeMedici’s widespread patronage helped establish Renaissance French art, even introducing the art of ballet to the French court. The magnificent ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican was commissioned by Pope Sixtus from Michelangelo.
A more contemporary list of individual collectors who have supported contemporary artists includes the likes of London’s Sir John Soames, the Guggenheim family, Paul Durand-Ruel who discovered supported and promoted Impressionist artists (“Without him we should not have survived,” Renoir wrote), British advertising magnate Charles Saatchi, and French retailing giant Francis Pinault.
It Started With Rockefeller John D. Rockefeller is generally considered the father of modern corporate art collecting. Deutsche Bank owns what is today one of the largest and most important collections of art in the world – nearly 60,000 objects in a collection begun in 1979. The UBS collection of some 35,000 works aims “to be supporting living artists at integral stages of their careers.” Bank of America connects with the public through art, offering free pan-U.S. museum entry on 12 weekends a year to its clients. Luxury brands have turned to art patronage as part of their branding stagecraft, with magnificent results. Take LVMH, the world’s largest luxury group, and its Fondation Louis Vuitton Frank Gehry-designed museum in Paris’s Bois de Boulogne.
But putting together and maintaining a corporate art collection takes more than hanging pictures on office walls. For example, how do you start?
It’s “fits the spirit of the company” that’s the key. This is an investment in culture, a venture into the art of collection rather than just collecting art. Businesses may choose to be involved in an art collection or an art program consisting of art sponsorship, commissioning art, or enhancing their marketing activities by creating art events and engaging new target audiences – a way to get closer to customers, community and employees.
Sometimes it’s the CEO who has an interest in art, but experts gathered in Maastricht this spring for The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) agree that the work of actually collecting art for a company should be in the hands of those whose tenure and interest will outlast that of the CEO. The Board of Directors, for example. “When CEOs change, different focus areas might shift,” points out Sanne ten Brink, Head curator ING Collectionat Dutch bank ING. “Strategies can change from time to time, but the art collection ideally maintains its own identity and focus. Therefore it’s best to have your art collection embedded within all levels of the entire organization. Only then the collection creates a culture that defines the corporate identity. At ING, art can be seen as a bearer to create a certain culture of innovation and change which defines our organization."
You Need A Committee Jeremy Johnston, curator of the AXA U.S. corporate collection, agrees. “Our decision-making -- even with regard to legal matters and marketing – is done by a committee that works closely with our executive team, to make sure everyone’s goals are met,” he says. “And care and preservation are a serious matter – taking care of storage and lighting levels, for example, are very important. Art works are things over which we have temporary custodial responsibility.”
The global CEO of AXA ART, Kai Kuklinski, in an interview for this blog, points out that there are risks to be considered greater than theft. “Transportation and climate impact are the biggest risks,” he says. For example, moving art works across corporate locations and external hazards -- as well as climate condition changes -- can have a negative impact on artwork. “Water damage can and does happen anywhere. Natural disasters are becoming worse and more frequent – earthquakes, storms for example. When a huge territory is affected, it’s often difficult to rescue people let alone objects.” There’s also the risk associated with the vicissitudes of the business world itself. As a result of the financial crisis, ING shrank in size by divesting its insurance businesses. That meant much less wall and public space for displaying art. The company’s worldwide collection shrank from 25,000 pieces to just 10,000. Ten Brink has been overseeing the company’s art collecting efforts for more than a decade.
“We donated some of the works to museums, including the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam,” she explains. “Others went to local institutions, such as several health and educational institutions in the Netherlands. We felt it was better to have everything on display rather than put some of the works in storage. And even though many of our staff work from home, when they do come into the office, they tell us they find the art works uplifting and inspiring. We hear the same from our clients. Our main purpose is to bring in a culture of innovation and change within the organization.”
Businesses who collect or engage with art can improve their corporate culture, add a new dimension to their corporate social responsibility outreach, and significantly enhance their brand image… and provide important support for contemporary artists. And despite recent market corrections, art is nothing to sneeze at: Including dealers and auction sales, the value of the art market has increased by 154% since 2003 to nearly $66 billion.
Which space are you collecting for business or home? Is it investment? Which Shidonna Raven Fine Art or Giclee will you choose?
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