The tour begins with a Superman print by pop artist Andy Warhol. Next comes a painting by Jasper Johns. Then, a splashy, thirty-eight-foot mural by abstract expressionist Sam Francis.
In the Midtown offices of JPMorgan Chase & Co., in Manhattan, visitors get a peek at one of the world’s most impressive corporate art collections. Its roster of mostly contemporary artists runs the gamut from the venerable—Roy Lichtenstein, Cy Twombly, Josef Albers, Joan Mitchell—to the obscure, with a few surprises along the way. Robert Smithson, whose 1,500-foot Spiral Jetty recently re-emerged from the Great Salt Lake, has an early work in the collection, as does Robert Indiana, whose iconic LOVE sculptures dot the country. The tour also showcases photographs, prints, drawings, artifacts, and high-tech installation art.
In all, the JPMorgan Chase Art Collection includes some thirty-thousand artworks in 450 locations around the world—almost twice the number of objects in the permanent collection of Brigham Young University’s Museum of Art. Works from the collection have been exhibited the world over, from the Museum of Modern Art in New York to the Pera Museum in Istanbul. But the bulk of the collection remains on company turf (i.e., JPMorgan’s boardrooms, lobbies, offices, and outdoor plazas)—and it is here that it has had the greatest impact.
For nearly fifty years the artwork at JPMorgan has inspired employees, challenged their way of thinking, and spurred creativity. The point is well illustrated by an incident involving car parts. When a downtown office tower opened in 1960, a nontraditional sculpture made of automobile bumpers was hung in the lobby. The response of onlookers was grim. The ensuing sense of protest was so visible that by the end of the lunch hour, the work had come down. That provocative composition—a bas-relief by Jason Seley—eventually did return, but only after a year had passed. Today it hangs in the lobby of One Chase Manhattan Plaza, a reminder that new ideas are welcomed in today’s ever-changing world.
“What’s most important about our collection is not how much we’ve accumulated, but what, in the process of living with art for the past four decades, we’ve learned,” writes William B. Harrison Jr., then CEO and chair of the firm, in a book commemorating the collection’s fortieth year in 1999. “Be creative. Meet change head on. Don’t be afraid to innovate.”
In nearly fifty years of collecting, JPMorgan Chase—America’s third largest bank—now boasts a collection worth a fortune, though bank officials won’t cite a figure publicly. What began in 1959 as a $500,000 investment has grown to more than $100 million in art, according to the collection’s founder, David Rockefeller, in a memoir.
For a company whose primary business is to generate wealth, that’s no stigma—even if it does attempt to price the priceless, or else cast its portfolio as a work of art all its own. In that respect, the line between art and enterprise may be thinner than we think. In the words of Andy Warhol, “Making money is art, and working is art, and good business is the best art.”
To Buy or Not to Buy
Today there are more than 1,300 major corporate art collections in the United States, Canada, and abroad, according to the International Art Alliance, a Florida-based research group that has tracked such art collections for the past twenty-five years. With almost as many pieces of art on display in corporate offices as there are in city museums, the value of these collections stretches into billions of dollars.
“We absolutely believe our art collection is just one factor that makes our company a great place to work. It inspires our people to take risks and think creatively,” explains Leah Knapp, a spokesperson for Progressive Insurance, which displays its 6,500-piece collection in its offices across the nation.
Few experts, however, cite financial incentives as the primary reason to collect. “The tax write-off is not the driver,” says Judith Jedlicka, president of the Business Committee for the Arts, a national nonprofit founded in 1960 to encourage partnerships between businesses and the arts. She says that effective partnerships allow companies to advance their strategic goals, reach new customers and markets, and increase customer and employee loyalty. Above all, she says, they enrich the quality of life in a corporation’s operating community.
The key is strategy. “The wise company does not buy art willy-nilly but really thinks about its culture and treats art as part of a business plan with internal and external goals,” she says. “It’s not just a windfall. It’s part of a strategic operating decision—something that works best for everyone.”
The appearance of corporate art collections dates back to the booming post-war economy of the 1950s when companies flush with cash wanted to leave their footprint on society in unique ways. During the next two decades, they built art collections that would beautify new office buildings and foster community support of the arts. The movement hit its zenith in the 1980s and then cooled as companies shifted their interests toward other forms of philanthropy, such as humanitarian aid and education. Those that have continued to acquire art do so with specific goals in mind and follow stringent criteria.
In that vein, certain questions are critical. “Largeness is not important,” says Naomi Baigell, director of corporate art services at Sotheby’s, the New York–based auction house that has handled most of the corporate collections to come to market over the past decade. “What companies should be asking is, ‘How are our collections being used? How are we focusing our art?’”
For corporate art buyers, concerns about fiscal responsibility and transparency can bear enormous weight in purchasing decisions, Baigell says. Since the accounting scandals that toppled Enron and WorldCom, public companies have been reluctant to compete for high-priced art against their private counterparts, especially with prices at a record high in many markets. In May, for example, Sotheby’s sold a Mark Rothko painting owned by David Rockefeller for an astronomical $72.8 million. Such a purchase by a public company would hardly sit well with its shareholders. Incidentally, Rockefeller acquired the Rothko in 1960 for $8,500.
On top of that, the current spate of mergers and acquisitions and the rise of outsourcing have actually diminished the need for large-scale facilities in America and the accompanying need for décor. “Companies just don’t have that much space anymore,” Baigell says. “Those who are building have more window space and less curatorial space.” Take Google Inc., for one. “Those guys aren’t buying,” she says.
And a few companies aren’t building or buying—they’re selling. Kmart Corp., for example, sold 1,300 works from its collection last year after merging with Sears Holding Corp. More recently, the bankrupt futures trader Refco Inc. sold all five hundred of its pieces to repay creditors. And Life magazine, fighting to keep its 10 million photographs from the auction block after being shut down by Time Inc. in March, announced a web site for its archives, though wealthy private collectors may still try to get their hands on the coveted collection.
Art and Goals
Despite these setbacks, corporate art collections have nonetheless flourished beyond the United States, particularly in Europe, where companies like UBS, one of the world’s leading financial firms, have been building viable, top-tier collections for decades. With the expertise of independent curators and professional guidance of an international advisory board, UBS has built a collection representative of the communities in which it does business, including works from new markets such as Thailand and Korea, and from young and emerging artists, which helps maintain a fresh perspective at the company. In that way, the collection actually says something about the business itself.
Untitled (Nature Study #2), Untitled (Nature
Study #3). Images courtesy of Novell
Untitled (Nature Study #2), Untitled (Nature
Study #3). Images courtesy of Novell
Untitled (Nature Study #2), Untitled (Nature
Study #3). Images courtesy of Novell
At least that’s the hope. Petra Arends, collection executive of the UBS Art Collection, says projecting a succinct and emphatic message through a corporate art collection can be challenging but, when done systematically, very rewarding. UBS follows simple criteria when assessing possible acquisitions for the collection: a work should be contemporary, movable, and of museum quality. Generally, Arends says, companies should focus their message and then ask themselves, “Is the collection built on sound criteria, or is the most important thing to have some nice pieces on a white wall?”
The strategy is paying off for UBS. Works from its collection, which include numerous well-known artists such as Edward Ruscha and Richard Diebenkorn, have been exhibited at the Tate Modern in London, the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, and the MoMA in New York City. And recently UBS was lauded as one of the top forty corporate collectors in the world by the prominent London-based Art Review magazine, a distinction it shares with the likes of JPMorgan Chase and Microsoft Corp.
Community Collage
On American shores, companies are taking an introspective look at their own collections, underwriting events at museums and galleries and participating in the “Percent for Art” program. This program, adopted in municipalities such as Philadelphia, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco, requires companies to contribute a percentage of new construction costs to public arts initiatives. Still others have committed to turning their corporate art collections into a business asset by forging new partnerships and buying in new markets.
National Game of Baseball and American Winter
Scenes Evening. Images courtesy of Nationwide
Mutual Insurance Company.
National Game of Baseball and American Winter
Scenes Evening. Images courtesy of Nationwide
Mutual Insurance Company.
Microsoft is just one example. The giant software maker, which just celebrated its twentieth year of collecting, has taken some innovative steps to share its art with its employees and the community. Its collection houses some 4,500 pieces in ninety buildings across the United States and Japan, including the company’s growing headquarters in Redmond, Washington, considered by some to be the largest corporate campus in the world.
The campus is so big, in fact, that the company’s art team has strategically placed some artworks to help employees navigate their way. Certain prints and photographs serve as virtual signposts, pointing the way for new workers. This way employees come to utilize the collection in a practical way, which in turn fosters a homegrown appreciation for the art, even if, for some, it merely points the way to the cafeteria.
On a more educational level, the company sponsors a variety of free outreach programs, panels, tours, and book readings on its campus for employees and community members.
“That’s what drew me to Microsoft,” says Laura Matzer, curator for the last three years. “I was impressed that they didn’t just hang up paintings on the wall, but they invited artists in to talk about their work and organized free programs for employees and guests interested in starting, say, photography. They really tried to partner with organizations in the community to reach a wider audience.”
According to its web site, Microsoft uses its art to “build customer and community relations, and to educate and involve employees, customers, and local communities in the art of our time.” And it has carved its own niche in the world of corporate art collections, with works by minimalist Sol LeWitt, photorealistic painter and photographer Chuck Close, graphic designer Paula Scher, and budding artists from throughout the Pacific Northwest. Not only that, but active loan programs and traveling exhibits lend incredible visibility to the company, perhaps even more than those early corporate art collections did in the 1950s.
“Do we view the collection as a corporate asset? Yes,” Matzer says. “But it’s not tracked vigorously against its current market value. Its value lies in that we’re trying to enhance the quality of life for our employees and the community.”
For the public company that can pull it off, that may be the best part of art.
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Article written by Bremen Leak
About the Author
Bremen Leak is a freelance reporter based in New York City. He earned his BA in communications from BYU in 2005.
