Why corporate houses and organizations buy art?

“Organizations that buy art are investing in themselves — and in more than a monetary sense. Art speaks to culture, self-expression and creativity. Corporations appreciate the reasons for art in the workplace more than they did when I started my company, and developers and architects know to consider art at the beginning of a project so it can be visually integrated into the setting.”

The above insightful observations by Jean Efron, an advisor for large corporate art collections and projects, underlines how and why businesses get into the domain of art. In an essay published in The New York Times, she reveals the intricacies of building the portfolio for corporate houses across diverse domains. One company, for instance, wanted to emphasize the fact that it’s a global organization.

“I suggested a series of antique textiles — tapestries, paisley shawls, 18th-century English bed coverings, Indian embroideries, batiks, costumes and ethnographic artwork — from locations around the globe where the company has offices. We were surprised to learn that one of the shawls was a rare textile that experts believed had been lost. The client became so involved in the company’s collection that he was asked to join the board of the Textile Museum in Washington,” She reveals. On the other hand, some organizations aren’t sure what they want when we start together.

People have different tastes, so the committees I work with often make trade-offs. A committee that’s too large doesn’t work well together, and one outspoken member can make the process uncomfortable for the others, she states.

“Once art is installed,” the art expert adds, “I often give clients and their employees a tour of their acquisitions. I discuss the art’s context, including the period when it was made, and tell them about the artist. I go over this with the art committee when the art is selected, but everyone else gets to hear this introduction. Employees who understand why the art was selected are more likely to enjoy it.”

When organizations buy works, they are supporting the arts. That can mean buying from local artists, but it extends beyond that. Art touches lives. People who view the art and know the building’s history have told me that the artwork has brought them to tears, she concludes.

(Image courtesy: The NYT)