ART collections owned by corporations or wealthy families are hung and displayed in foyers throughout the country. International auction house Sotheby’s has made an art of advising businesses how to maximise the benefits of having art.
ART collections owned by corporations or wealthy families are hung and displayed in foyers throughout the country. International auction house Sotheby’s has made an art of advising businesses how to maximise the benefits of having art.
ART collections owned by corporations or wealthy families are hung and displayed in foyers throughout the country.
International auction house Sotheby’s has made an art of advising businesses how to maximise the benefits of having art.
Over the past two years Sotheby’s has advised a number of major corporations and business people including Bank-West, AXA, BP and Kerry Stokes on his Orica Collection for which he paid around $15 million, as well as The Holmes à Court collection.
Sotheby head of painting department Mark Fraser said companies, particularly listed companies, should consider why they had invested in art.
“It can be an amenity for the public or staff. It can give a certain image. Art has always given an image of success,” Mr Fraser said.
He said art could also be used as a marketing tool or as a way of showing support for the local community.
“It’s about good karma. Buying local art can be good for public relations,” he said.
The type of art that a company wants to have can project an image. Conservative companies, for example, tend to invest in art that matches their business outlook, while those companies involved in new technology tend to buy contemporary, cutting-edge art.
In late 2001, for example, Sotheby’s was called in by BankWest to review the bank’s art to determine whether it fitted the image it wanted to portray. The result was a $500,000 sell-off of art not originating from WA. With the money raised BankWest initiated the Bank-West Art prize to promote cotemporary local art.
Every year more than $30 million of art is sold in Australia. Internationally, art is a $US1 billion-a-year industry.
Mr Fraser believes WA corporates are very keen on having art collections and in supporting the arts.
“You have some very strong art collections. WA is very much at the forefront,” Mr Fraser told WA Business News.
However, he said many WA businesses were still not utilising their art to meet corporate objectives.
Sotheby’s also helps resolve problems that may arise, such as dealing with disgruntled shareholders who resent executives surrounded by high value art works, or staff who face cutbacks and resent what they may perceive as ostentatious spending by their employer.
Fashion is another consideration. Unfashionable or outdated art also is considered to reflect on a company.