Establishing, Developing & Maintaining a Corporate Art Collection : A 4-part series of journal articles which provides an insight into the nature of a corporate art collection.

Corporate Collection 101: Start with A Collection Strategy
Part 1

Deutsche Bank London’s reception features art by Anish Kapoor and Damien Hirst. Photograph: Deutsche Bank

In 1959, the youngest child of John D Rockefeller Jnr, David Rockefeller, then president of the Chase Manhattan Bank, established what was ostensibly the first corporate art collection.  Known at the time as the “Art at Work” program, David Rockefeller believed that art elevated the experience of working at and doing business with the Bank; his plan was to embrace contemporary art which aligned with the firm’s business principles and priorities: diversity, innovation, technology, sustainability, creativity, and excellence.  These collection parameters remain in place to this day.

Rockefeller’s vision has paved the way for the incarnation of corporate collections across the globe, with many utilising the fundamentals as a starting point.  In seeking to define a collection strategy for a new collection, reference can be made to several established corporate art collections and the business models which have been utilised in maintaining and developing these same collections.  The following brief overview illustrates how a collection can be used as a means of branding ; how incorporating thematic parameters can be used to guide the acquisitions, and how a collection’s infrastructure informs the promotion of that collection.

The accounting firm Deloitte is a high-profile presence in the Australian corporate sector.  Its collection has risen to prominence as a result of a craftily devised activation within its Sydney headquarters in 2004: in lieu of simply acquiring works for its boardrooms and offices, it was decided to implement a rotating exhibition program which is installed throughout the main public floors of its offices (which welcomes on average 6000 visitors per week).  This type of strategy has allowed for considerable public engagement and sets the tone for a dynamic and active corporate art collection.

The Deutsche Bank Collection, formally known as the “Deutsche Bank Global Art Program”, has been described as the largest corporate art holding in the world.  It not only collects artworks on a regular basis, it also has an online magazine, and frequently engages in dialogue with a vast and extensive global audience on contemporary art.  Such engagement clearly enhances the Bank’s global brand.  Considering its Sydney headquarters (a Norman Foster designed glass and aluminium office tower), a move towards more installation-based artwork was conceived, given the lack of wall space.  Notably 95% of the Bank’s collection (worldwide) is accessible to the public.

Corporate collections often commence with the notion of aligning its brand with art.  Macquarie Group started its collection in 1986, with this premise as its focus.  One of the most respected corporate art collections, having earned a reputation as one of Australia’s most cohesive, considered and exciting compilations of contemporary Australian talent, the bank’s sustained curatorial thematic parameters of “emerging Australian artists influenced by the Australian landscape” have clearly helped to maintain its status and prestige.  The Bank has a selection committee comprising Macquarie employees together with an external advisor, and along with regular acquisitions from artists and galleries, the Bank also embraces commissioning site-specific artworks for their headquarters in Sydney.  To maintain interest in the collection as much as to appease their shareholders, art tours are included in staff and client functions.

The corporate art collection business model adopted by Perth-based company Wesfarmers is perhaps the more traditional in its activities.  The collection, which started in 1977, has been focused on demonstrating the value of art in the workplace to its staff (and shareholders) as well as encouraging “an understanding of the importance to society of supporting creative thinking and artistic vision”.  The extensive collection of 900 artworks and objects engages in an active loan program and regularly commissions site specific temporary works for its window foyer at Wesfarmers House.  Several exhibitions curated from the collection have gone on tours, with the most recent exhibition showing at the National Art School in Sydney in February 2016.

In a similar manner to Wesfarmers, the art collection of blue-chip law firm Allens commenced acquiring artworks in the mid-1970s.  The collection’s raison d’etre was to support artists by way of purchasing works and commission site-specific temporary projects for their offices.  Interestingly, the firm’s preference has been to buy young and follow the career of their collection artists, which in art parlance is known as ‘collecting in-depth’. Moving beyond the traditional parameters of a corporate art collection, Allens also offers a month-long internship program with Sydney University post-graduate arts students, to work alongside the collection’s curators.

BHP Billiton’s art collection is one of the few corporate art collections within Australia which includes an international component.  Its primary curatorial premise has been to focus on “the issue of identity”, however, with changes in societal discourse and the political socio-economic changes on the social landscape, the collection has sought to redefine its collecting parameters, to now include a multi-cultural focus.  This diversity of artist and therefore artwork has boded well for the company’s global expansion over the years. 

Deutsche Bank

The salient points highlighted in the above collections are the variations amongst the collections, which of course, marks their point of difference:

• the rotating exhibitions program implemented by Deloitte

• the on-line magazine of Deutsche Bank

• the vigilant maintenance of Macquarie Group’s curatorial parameters, i.e. the landscape

• the inclusion of touring exhibitions of works from the collection of Wesfarmers, which are likely the result of an active loans strategy;

• the arts internship and alignment with Sydney University inherent to the collection of Allens; and

• the intentional diversity of artists and artworks of BHP Billiton’s collection.

These aspects all have merit and can be considered as part of devising a collection’s strategy.

In our next journal post we will discuss ‘setting the parameters’ for a collection.

Market Favourites @ Gibson’s Auctions

Ethel Carrick Fox (1872-1952), “The Garden Terrace”, oil on canvas board, 26.5 x 34.5cm
Courtesy: Gibson’s Auctions

Gibson’s 19th July sale of Graham Joel’s Collection saw a buoyant response from the market, and although not quite a white glove sale on the day, post-sale interest closed out almost the entire inventory, bar six lots.

The 234 lot sale, extensive for the current climate when most other houses are restricting their inventory to much less, of a collection of silverware, decorative and fine art, and furniture, was developed over a 40 year period, by its owner Graham Joel, former head of the Leonard Joel auction house.  Graham Joel bought a piece from every significant sale he conducted.  Joel was of the view that one should “buy what they like”, and indeed, clearly the market ‘liked’ the items in this sale.

From the decorative arts segment, highlights included a stunning Gallé 'Noisette' Table Lamp, circa 1910 (Lot 31) achieve its high estimate of $40K; a rare silver mounted cameo glass claret jug attributed to Thomas Webb & Sonsmaker's Mark Joseph Cook & Son, Birmingham of 1880 saw some spirited bidding not quite achieving its high estimate of $8000, selling at $7000; and a pair of Worcester Barr Flight & Barr plates, circa 1810, surprising the room with a hammer price of $4600 clearly exceeding its high estimate of $600.

Extraordinary bidding saw a small group of hidden gems by Ethel Carrick Fox considerably exceed their allotted high estimates.  Ethel Carrick Fox’s oil on panel “Venice” was finally hammered down at $30K against a high estimate of $8000; her “Hydrangeas in Spring” saw an equal voracity in bidding knocking the work down at $32K against a high estimate of $6000; and Lot 121 saw something of a bidding war for “The Garden Terrace” finally selling for an impressive $55K. 

Other highlights within the fine arts segment included Louis Buvelot’s precise pencil sketch of 1880, “The Farm” selling for $4600 against its high estimate of $500; Max Meldrum’s 1923 typically tonal “Eltham” at Lot 151 selling for 10 times its high estimate of $600; and Frederick McCubbin’s watercolour of 1905, “The Pool” (Lot 153) selling for $18K against a high estimate of $6000.

#ARTNews: Bonhams Australia / Menzies Recent Auction Results

Bonhams Australia were tasked with selling selected works from gallerist’s Bill Nuttall’s collection on the 7th July in Melbourne; clearly these were not ‘prized’ works and the hushed atmosphere of the room, apart from the clipped annunciation of the auctioneer, echoed this sentiment.  There was for the most part, scant movement in bidding, aside from some decent interest for the Ralph Balson (Lot 21) achieving $48K (incl BP) and the striking Peter Booth painting of 2007 (Lot 19) selling for $47,580 (incl. BP)

Ralph Balson (1890-1964), Matter Painting, c.1958, enamel on board, 106.5 x 137cm

Menzies’ “The Art of Discovery” auction on 9th July in Sydney produced mixed results.  The much anticipated and prized work for the evening was Lot 28, the Grace Cossington-Smith, which took some cajoling from Martin Farrah to start the bidding, eventually selling for $520K against an estimate of $300 to $400K.  The Sally Gabori work at Lot 14 enjoyed some spirited bidding selling at $15K against an estimate of $7K to $10K; and a Picasso ceramic at Lot 17 sold well for $22K against an estimate of $10K to $15K.  There were some choice iconic works which either witnessed no interest – the Jeffrey Smart at Lot 27 (Est: $400 to $600K), the Brett Whiteley at Lot 29 (Est: $700 to $900K) and a challenging  Russell Drysdale at Lot 30 (Est: $320 to $400K); - or were painfully slow, for example the bright Garry Shead at Lot 25, selling for $140K against an estimate of $120 to $160K, and the Charles Blackman at Lot 26, selling after Farrah suggested “still room for improvement ladies and gentlemen” for $180K against an estimate of $200 to $300K. 

Charles Blackman, (1928 - 2018), Boats at Williamstown, 1956, oil on composition board, 95 x 129.5 cm

#ARTNews: Australian Auctions - Smith & Singer, “Important Australian & International Art” 24th June 2020, Sydney

Lot 6, John Brack (1920-1999), Laughing Child, (detail), 1958, oil on canvas, signed and dated 'John Brack 58' upper right, 45.8 x 40.8 cm frame: original, John Brack, Melbourne

Smith & Singer’s return to the podium, albeit post-covid19 lifting of restrictions, presented an exemplary inventory of anticipated Australian iconic artists: Boyd, Brack, Blackman, Nolan, and Perceval.   A total of $6,620,940 was realised for this quality auction, with a sale rate by value of 111% and by quantity, 87%, which is impressive given the current conditions impacting our market.

The featured work for the auction, and indeed a highlight of the evening sale was John Brack’s “Laughing Child” (Lot 6), a work ‘very’ fresh to market selling to a telephone bidder for $915K against an estimate of $400 to $600K. 

Other notable sales which raced past their high estimates were Arthur Boyd’s 1976 softened palette rendition of a favoured subject, “Evening, Shoalhaven River” selling for $70,760 (incl. BP); Sidney Nolan’s oil on paper, “Kelly Head” enjoyed some spirited bidding, finally selling for $30,500 (incl. BP) against an estimate of $10 to $15K; and a wonderful ink & collage on paper by Brett Whiteley “The Owl” (1983) realised an impressive $73,200 (incl. BP) against an estimate of $30 to $49K.

Bidding for Arthur Streeton’s intimate “Bridge in New Norfolk, Tasmania” of 1938 wasn’t curtailed by its speckled provenance, with inclusions in previous auctions (Leonard Joel in 1972 and Sotheby’s in 2003) bouncing to almost double its high estimate of $150K with a winning bid of $292,800 (incl. BP).

A good, solid biographical provenance for Ethel Carrick’s 1903 oil on canvas “The Market, Caudebec” no doubt inspired confident bidding well above the high estimate of $180K to achieve $274,500 (incl. BP).

Notwithstanding the title of the sale as denoting International works, there were only 4 lots in this category, which nevertheless included a good, tabletop sculpture by Antony Gormley, Lot 57, and with a market ready estimate of $180 to $220K, still failed to sell.  Possibly Australian secondary market buyers are still seeking ‘reliable’ Australian works.

Charles Blackman’s 1961 oil on composition board “Double Image III” was clearly a challenging proposition on the night, failing to entice bidders, but with swift aplomb by S & S circulating a “Private Sale” newsletter a few days later, the work sold for an undisclosed sum. 

Although for the most part, contemporary practising artists do not ‘warm’ to their works going to auction, the Alexander McQueen of Lot 53, “Strong Tower” (2009) reached almost parity with the artist’s retail values, selling for $42,700 (incl. BP).

Was it a case of preference for nude bathing women over pasturing cows? Lot 23, “The Bathers” the later of the two McCubbins included in the sale, did sell, although it was knocked down for below its low estimate, for $360K on the hammer.  McCubbin’s 1886 “Winter at Nunawading” was for me, the more appealing, but clearly not for the room on the night.

Supporting the Arts

Xu Zhen, "Eternity Buddah in Nirvana"​. Installed at NGV as part of the NGV Triennial

To art enthusiasts, collectors and supporters.

To gallerists, curators, directors, managers and admin officers.

To art suppliers, framers, carriers, and restorers.

To art lecturers, tutors, teachers, arts writers and students.

To auctioneers, auction houses, art specialists and appraisers.

To art dealers, advisors, valuers and consultants.

Together we are facing the perils of the COVID-19 virus, the impact of which is having an immediate knock-on effect across our sector.

We all know in our hearts that the virus will eventually be defeated, but in the meantime, we need to do what we can with the tools and expertise we have to support our industry.  Collaboration, partnering, sharing of resources, and hey, even ideas, will go some way to averting complete amelioration of our chosen profession. 

For many of us, the loss of interaction with our clients, collectors and colleagues will be initially, strange and even disconcerting.  Send a text message to a colleague; phone a client; send an email to a collector, above all, stay in touch and know that all of us, in amongst the bravado of some, are fearful of what the future holds.

The economic impact of the virus is and will continue to be profound, and will affect most of us, with small businesses and sole proprietors, which permeate much of the arts landscape, remaining particularly vulnerable.  Whilst some government assistance has been announced to cushion the fall, mostly for public institutions, there will be a shortfall. 

With the latter in mind, we need to bravely reach out beyond our usual and comfortable spheres and seek support of the arts via different and perhaps, unique channels.

Which is why I will support anyone who is brave enough to politely ask:

·       you to keep your magazine subscription;

·       you to consider buying an artwork;

·       you to visit their online gallery and stockroom;

·       you to subscribe to their newsletter

·       you to buy a self-published catalogue;

·       for an introduction or referral; and

·       for help – with anything….

Stay safe.  Stay well.  Stay connected.

#art #contemporaryart #livewithart #DontCancelCreativity #stayconnected

D+H’s Australian Aboriginal Art Auction Defies Virus Covid-19 Fears with 100% Sold by Value

Image: Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Desert Winter, 1994. Courtesy: Deutscher & Hackett

Notwithstanding the Prime Minister’s announcement on 18th March banning indoor gatherings of 100 people Deutscher & Hackett’s first auction for the year, the much anticipated “Important Australian Aboriginal Art” auction, defied the odds, and witnessed spirited bidding from local and international collectors to achieve a total of A$2.3m in sales.  Selling at 100% by value and in excess of 80% by volume, the results were impressive, and several artists achieving new records.

Top 3 Prices (incl BP) from the night:

LOT 8    EMILY KAME KNGWARREYE, Desert Winter, 1994, $317,200

LOT 9    EMILY KAME KNGWARREYE, A Desert Life Cycle III, 1991, $170,800

LOT 23  PADDY BEDFORD, Jinanggany – Cattle Creek, 2004, $128,100

The William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize

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Established in 2006 to promote excellence in photography, the annual William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize is an initiative of the MGA Foundation. The Bowness Photography Prize has quickly become Australia's most coveted photography prize. It is also one of the country's most open prizes for photography. In the past, finalists have included established and emerging photographers, art and commercial photographers. All film-based and digital work from amateurs and professionals is accepted. There are no thematic restrictions.

The 2017 judging panel: architect, art patron and academic, Corbett Lyon, artist and educator Dr Susan Fereday, and MGA Senior Curator Stephen Zagala.

Enhancing our built environment with art

Peter D Cole, sculpture commission, 2005, PWC, Freshwater Place, Melbourne

Walking through our corporate centres and precincts in Melbourne, one is often met with some superb examples of contemporary art installations; within public buildings’ foyers, in communal courtyards adjacent to a corporate headquarters, and welcoming guests to inner city hotels.  Imagine for a moment, these same spaces bereft of such artwork…

The CBD of any city is, let’s face it, reflective of the culture, its population, its values. Property developers, architects, town planners and the like, have had an enormous influence over the years on how we experience our cities.  Thankfully, these days, numerous buildings, office spaces and residential towers, have been planned and constructed with parameters allowing for artworks.

Similarly, artists have developed and extended their practise to allow for these types of public art commissions, and have thereby created lively and dynamic spaces.

Bringing nature into the city

Artists invariably derive inspiration from their immediate living and working environments.  Regionally-based Victorian Peter D Cole puts ‘nature on the stage’ with his ‘urbanised’ interpretations of nature.  His sculpture commission of 2005, a manifestation of playful yet beautifully balanced conjoined sculptural archetypal elements such as tree, moon and stars, and the like, and created from stainless steel and powder-coated primary colours welcomes workers and visitors alike at Freshwater Place in Southbank. 

Corporate message

The presence of contemporary art installed within a corporate’s head office or flagship building also suggests a forward-looking enterprise, a preparedness to engage with its community.

Art in public spaces, as part of a building’s structure or indeed, as part of a corporate art collection, adds a cultural edifice – whether to that corporate’s identity, the building’s spaces, the locale and immediate environment of that building.  Its benefits resonate with its inhabitants, the clients visiting that building or corporate location, the employees and the general public.  As such, it contributes in a very tangible way to the society’s cultural infrastructure.

The installation of contemporary art – manifested in any of its genres – can have an educative and interpretative function within the building in which is it placed.  A very good example of this concept is Janet Laurence’s “Water Veil” at the Council House 2 (CH2) building in Melbourne. 

Janet Laurence, “Water Veil”, 2006, commission, 2006, Council House 2 (CH2) Building, Melbourne

A diaphanous, experiential and reflective glass veil that transforms the window between the foyer and the public space of the street into a membranous fluid space, “Water Veil” expresses and reveals the transformation and purification of water, reiterating the black water treatment within the building as well as expressing purity and translucence representing the purification of water.

Laurence’s “Water Veil” denotes a very direct educative and interpretive function within the building and from the public space outside creates a dramatic effect, serving to amplify the functional aspect of the CH2 building as environmentally sustainable, in other words, quite literally highlighting a corporate message.

Nowadays, corporate responsibility to its community is higher on the agenda, and part of a corporate’s mandate must service the community at large in some way:  incorporating art within its spaces meets one albeit small, aspect of this requisite. 

Art for daily inspiration

Inclusion of public art commissions within our built environment, in foyers, adorning a façade, or inhabiting a causeway,  contributes to the visual ‘documenting’ of our history; it reflects our growth and development, occasionally our current societal issues, and sometimes our collective values.   But equally important, it provides a visual stimuli, an aesthetic pleasure, a thought-provoking moment; an added dimension to our daily lives. 

Marion Borgelt’s site specific “Candescent Moon” of 2011, installed at 101 Collins Street, is a case in point.  This large scale sculptural relief suggests the universal themes of sequences, celestial orders and lunar rhythms. These ideas are particularly pertinent to the modern corporate lifestyle, where daily life balances the restrictions imposed by cycles of time and the forces of nature’s flux and unpredictability.

Interestingly, Borgelt’s work is intended to be interactive; that is, as the viewer moves around the front of the work, its appearance and nature change from light to dark and from one texture to another. This sequential change can represent a change in time such as the passing from day into night.

The work has a timeless quality, bridging the gap between the everyday and the planetary by acting as a reminder of our daily life while indicating our part in a larger, cosmic structure.

Marion Borgelt, “Candescent Moon”, 2011, timber, polyurethane, gold leaf with shellac varnish, 5710 x 1370 x 120 cm, 101 Collins Street, Melbourne.  Photographers: Shannon McGrath and Marion Borgelt

Bringing contemporary art into our built environment clearly comprises many positives for our society: beyond what has been briefly elucidated above, art can start a conversation; open a dialogue.  At its most fundamental, art expresses an idea, an observation, and/or an emotion. It enlivens our consciousness, and sometimes changes our experiences and it stimulates, nourishes and feeds our senses.  In so many ways, at its most fundamental, art contributes to the ‘wealth’ of our culture. 

©Catherine Asquith October 2017

The importance of valuing your art

Believe it or not, art is an asset.  And like any asset, such as your car, your home, or your stamp collection, you insure it.  Interestingly as soon as one acquires one of these items, one automatically seeks the advice of an advisor or broker to ascertain adequate insurance and annual premiums ensure thereafter.  Yet, the same cannot be said for art.

Speaking with my insurance broker on a somewhat frequent basis, I am always surprised to hear how infrequent his clients seek the advice of a professional when estimating the value of their art collection; the consequences of not having an up to date valuation, and therefore a current value, can mean the difference between being reimbursed for loss or damage appropriate to its market value or incurring a loss on that initial investment.

Obtaining a professional appraisal of your artwork operates in much the same way as seeking a value for other assets.  Credentials should be assessed; market sector and speciality experience should be examined together with the level of tertiary qualifications and membership with an industry association, such as the Art Consulting Association of Australia (ACAA).

Most importantly, seeking the services of an independent, objective and impartial professional will result in a more accurate valuation, and without the potential bias of an invested interest in the artwork and therefore its value.

There are a number of attributes which an experienced appraiser will utilise in order to determine the value of your artwork:

• Authenticity - discernment of a signature, title or date, original sale documentation;
• Quality - consideration of the artist’s period in which the work was executed; composition, palette and technical prowess;
•  Rarity - how many works by this artist are available on the open market;
• Limited Edition Prints (if applicable) – the breadth of the edition for the work; available prints in the edition;
• Condition – the archival stability of the work and framing quality, i.e. is the artwork in its original frame?;
• Provenance – probably one of the most crucial factors in the overall valuation process, “provenance” equates with the artwork’s ‘history’, i.e. from artist’s studio to gallery exhibition to auction house sale; and includes discerning any notable non-commercial exhibitions in which the artwork was included, for example, a ‘survey’ exhibition at a regional gallery, in addition to any publications in which the artwork was illustrated or discussed;
• Market – does the artist have an auction record? Sales rates for the artist in either the primary or secondary markets.

Additionally, depending upon the nature of the valuation, i.e. the artwork is being considered for a charitable contribution or gift, or the artwork is part of the asset pool in a Family Law property dispute, the valuation may also include consideration of future capital gains tax issues.

Valuing your art necessitates the same respect as valuing your other lifetime assets.  Regular, up to date valuations of your artworks are an important adjunct to the ongoing maintenance and accurate documentation of your collection.

Seeking the advice and services of an experienced and knowledgeable professional is a critical step in the provision of an accurate art valuation.  Catherine Asquith Art’s valuation services offer new and established collectors a comprehensive appreciation of their collection, its current parameters and indeed, future directions.

Catherine Asquith has been working within the Australian art market, and more recently, the Asian art market, across both the primary and secondary sectors for the past twenty years and is a member of the Art Consulting Association of Australia (ACAA).