Gain Street Cred in the Art World

Some of the world’s best art collections are now held by corporations, the same way they used to be held by nobility, rich merchants and wealthy clergy. For their efforts, these corporations receive a certain amount of prestige.

Progressive Corporate Collection

Progressive Corporate Collection

According to Forbes, some companies are all-stars in the art collecting world:

Nick Orchard, head of Corporate Collections at Christie’s Europe, calls this “proactive collecting.” UBS and Deutsche Bank, for example, have made art central to their corporate identities. Bank of America uses art to connect with the public.

JPMorgan Chase boasts an important collection that traces back to David Rockefeller, the father of modern corporate collecting, who started an art acquisition program at Chase Manhattan Bank in 1959. Widely credited as the first high-profile executive to consult art historians, Rockefeller began the modern trend of using art for more than decoration.

Progressive Corporate Collection

Progressive Corporate Collection

A Mutually Beneficial Partnership

More and more, arts organizations and corporations are joining forces—in mutually beneficial arrangements. Both sides come to the table looking to give something and get something in return.

“Sponsorship is not a donation, it’s a deal. It has to work for the business as well as for us,” Sandy Nairne, National Portrait Gallery Director, told The Art Newspaper.

Progressive Corporate Collection

Progressive Corporate Collection

According to the New York Times, some arts organizations are embracing the chance to work with corporations. And some corporations are embracing the chance in return.

Reynold Levy, former president of the Lincoln Center, called it “the sweet spot: the intersection between a company’s business interests and charitable need.” And it’s something companies are addressing these days.

Progressive Corporate Collection

Progressive Corporate Collection

Like when Panasonic donates a jumbo screen in Times Square to simulcast the Met’s opening night performance of “Madame Butterfly.” Or when the tech giant donates plasma screens to put into the Met’s lobby, so people who are late can still watch the opening act.

“I think it’s good that companies can justify their gifts to the Met through marketing,” Met General Manager Peter Gelb told the Times. “It’s up to institutions like ours to create opportunities for sponsors.”

Mutually beneficial opportunities, of course.