The investment on the wall.

• Author: Shane, Corinne
• Position: Corporate art collecting - Includes related article

Although the cost-cutting climate has cooled off corporate art collecting, rumors of its death may be highly exaggerated.

Corporations are continuing to seek ways to jack up the bottom line in this perplexing economy. What does that bode for future corporate support of the arts? Are tough times threatening the existence of that unique cultural phenomenon, the corporate art collection?

The answer is a rousing no. The climate for corporate art collecting hasn't bottomed out; it's just more realistic. The go-go, high-profile collecting years that characterized the 1980s are gone and probably won't return. Yes, some companies have sold some artwork and, yes, many others are taking a harder look at budgets for acquisitions.

But, overall, corporate loyalty to art collections is strong. Despite a slowdown in acquiring new works regularly, corporate collectors by and large seem convinced of the value of fine art as a motivation and incentive for employees (who often can select artworks for their offices), as a public relations tool and as a vehicle to fortify ties with the communities they serve (many corporations specialize in collecting works by regional artists). And it doesn't hurt that a quality art collection tends to appreciate. When Pfizer's collection, for instance, was appraised in 1991, most of the works had doubled in value, even though the company doesn't buy high-end art.

The overall market for fine art has been recovering strongly, as measured by high prices set at auction once again and dealers reporting increased sales activity. This is always a healthy harbinger for corporate art collecting.

However, it's hard to get a handle on the scope of corporate art collecting in the United States, especially in dollar terms. For years, the figure of $1 billion has been bandied about as the cumulative value of company-sponsored collections. This estimate really can't be verified, although it's a reasonable ballpark figure. The Business Committee for the Arts, a nonprofit organization, estimates businesses spent $875 million in 1994 on all art activities. The International Art Alliance, which along with ARTnews magazine publishes the standard directory of corporate art collections, counts 873 companies in the United States with collections, of which about 62 percent are ongoing, meaning the companies are on record as still being in the market for new acquisitions from time to time. Around half of all Fortune 500 companies collect art...