Corporate art collections enrich office culture and signal status
Secreted away from the public eye in corporate suites in skyscrapers across Midtown and Buckhead are millions of dollars in artwork by modern-day masters like Henry Moore, Frank Stella and Andy Warhol, as well as a host of talented Atlanta artists.
Atlanta law firms King & Spalding and Arnall Golden Gregory, named among the top 40 corporate art collections in the world by UK-based art consultancy Artelier, have gained a national reputation that rivals the blue-chip collections at Ford Motors and Pfizer.
So why do Atlanta-based corporations like Cousins Properties, Kilpatrick, Intuit and Norfolk Southern collect art that is often inaccessible to the public and reserved only for employees and clients invited into the inner sanctum?
The answer is multifaceted. Collecting art is a financial investment that might appreciate over time, and it’s a way to diversify a corporation’s holdings.
Sometimes collections are made available to the public when they’re lent to museums, which has the potential of increasing the art’s value. Selections from Cousins Properties’ collection of 19th century Henry Inman portraits of Native Americans, for example, is currently on view in the Stent Family Wing of the High Museum until next year. Cousins’ ongoing support of the museum is reflected in the naming of the Cousins galleries on the second level of the High’s Wieland Pavilion.
Art collections also burnish corporate reputations as a demonstration of the company’s public good.
“They want to impress their clients with their future thinking,” said curator Mary Stanley, who works as an adviser with Kilpatrick, a global law firm headquartered in Atlanta with more than 300 artworks in its collection. “They want their facility to reflect the values and the prominence of the firm.”
Art collections are also seen as a boost to employee morale — something even more important these days in luring reluctant white-collar workers back to the office. And they foster community engagement by supporting local artists, dealers and galleries.
Corporate commitment to local artists can in some cases run deep. For more than a decade, Cousins Properties has offered studio space in its 1230 Peachtree St. building in Midtown to local artists to use for two years in exchange for an artwork donation valued at $10,000.
“It’s been a valuable resource for local artists since studio space in Atlanta gets more and more expensive every year,” said art consultant Anne Lambert Tracht, owner of ConsultArt.
Tracht has advised various Atlanta-based corporations on their collections, helping them select, purchase, install and sometimes even move works, as she did for Norfolk Southern when it relocated from Norfolk, Virginia, to Atlanta.
“I try to support local galleries and local artists as much as I can, and that’s usually part of the mission,” Tracht said of her clients’ ambitions for their collections.
Tasks for corporate art consultants can be as basic as having works framed and stretched, or as glamorous as facilitating the acquisition of priceless world treasures and attending art fairs to scope out new work.
Beth Wilson, who works in-house as Coca-Cola Co.’s fine arts manager, said her mission is to “curate a collection that not only inspires but reflects the company’s values and global perspective. When procuring artwork, I focus on diversity, innovation and cultural significance.”
And not all corporate art collections are kept away from the public.
A collection of Atlanta artist Phil Proctor’s sculptures is visible in the courtyard of Cousins’ Buckhead Plaza. And outside Norfolk Southern headquarters in Atlanta is a massive sculpture by Pennsylvania artist Dee Briggs that was commissioned through the corporation’s artist-in-residence program. Atlanta artist Lillian Blades is the current artist-in-residence.
Here is a look at six of Atlanta’s most notable corporate art collections:
Norfolk Southern Railway
The company’s collection of nearly 300 works dates back to 1982, when the Norfolk & Western and Southern railroads merged. It features such heavyweight artists as Claes Oldenburg, Frank Stella and Edward Hopper. When the corporate headquarters moved to Atlanta, the collection’s focus shifted to include Eric Mack, María Korol and other Atlanta artists.
Arnall Golden Gregory
The AGG law firm’s collection features 280 pieces focused on contemporary photography and prints from the likes of Ansel Adams and Edward Weston. “We have a world class collection,” said AGG partner Bertram Levy, who handles acquisitions along with a committee. “We’ve been honored as one of the best collections,” he noted, citing reports by ArtReview magazine and Artelier.
Cousins Properties
“I would say Cousins is the best in the city,” Tracht said about the real estate investment company’s collection of 760 artworks. The collection features pieces by Georgia artists Tristan Al-Haddad, John Folsom and Deanna Sirlin, as well as regional artists from the Southeast and Sun Belt, where Cousins properties are based. It also includes a collection of Native American artwork.
Kilpatrick
This Atlanta-based global law firm features artwork in many of its corporate offices, including its headquarters at 1100 Peachtree St., which is undergoing a renovation. That architectural redo will include installation of contemporary works by Georgia artists Scott Ingram, Sarah Hobbs, Ridley Howard, Michael Stipe, Aineki Traverso and Hasani Sahlehe. Its collection contains roughly 320 pieces centered on Georgia talent. In recent years, its acquisitions have been focused on young, emerging talent.
Intuit
The new 360,000-square-foot, 10-story Old Fourth Ward office of this financial technology platform and parent company of Mailchimp is a bonanza of sculpture, painting and prints. It also boasts 180 murals commissioned from companies such as The Loss Prevention. Tracht worked with an internal creative team to choose works by Alic Brock, Tori Tinsley and other Atlanta artists. Pieces are divided by floor into loose themes, including outsider, minimalism, pop art and contemporary.
The Coca-Cola Co.
Blue chip art by Picasso, Andy Warhol and Henry Moore is the backbone of this collection, but in 2019 the company began a concerted effort to support the local arts community by buying works from Atlanta-based galleries and artists, including Demetri Burke, Steven Anderson, Tracy Murrell, Angela West and Sonya Yong James. Although the pieces in the collection are primarily available only to employees and visitors, in 2022 Wilson offered tours of the collection during 2023’s Atlanta Art Week.
Wieland collection
The collection of John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods founder and Chairman John Wieland and his wife, Sue, has grown to more than 400 contemporary works focused on the theme of the home. Representatives are quick to note this is a private collection, but its origins were much like those of Atlanta corporate collections. “We needed to put something on the walls. We wanted something relevant to the staff. The house was the natural default,” Wieland told ArtsATL. Selections from the collection are available for public viewing on the second Saturday of each month at the Warehouse, a former furniture facility converted into galleries, storage and administrative offices to display, house and manage the Wieland collection. Works by local and international artists from the 1970s to the present are featured, including those by Louise Bourgeois, Howard Finster, Carrie Mae Weems, Ed Ruscha and Do Ho Suh.
King & Spalding
Founded in Atlanta in 1885, international law firm King & Spalding started its art collection in 1970 under the tutelage of partner Bob Steed. The collection has since grown to more than 1,000 works displayed in 25 offices around the world, including its 1180 Peachtree St. location. The collection’s mission is to support artists — with a focus on Georgia artists Lamar Dodd, Carolyn Carr, Sarah Emerson, Benny Andrews and others — and enhance the office environment for the staff.
