Not just for the office: Some corporations doing more to show off art collections for public

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Two prints from Sharon Sutton\'s Space Time series hang in the office of the CEO of Johnson & Johnson in New Brunswick, N.J. on Tuesday, July 30, 2013. The prints are part of the art collection displayed throughout the world headquarters. Corporation art collecting has a long history that can be traced to the 1400s when European banks commissioned artists to create murals. But using art as part of a company\'s business plan is a modern concept in North America that emerged at the turn of the 20th century. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Corporate art buying in North American has fallen off since the boom days of the 1970s and 1980s. But even as the economy improves, some companies are buying less art but doing more to put their works out for the public to enjoy.

According to the International Directory of Corporate Art Collections, there are about 1,500 corporations in the world with art collections.

The directory’s editor, Shirley Reiff Howarth, says that since 2000, the percentage of collections listed as “ongoing,” or still being added to, has dropped from 55 per cent to about 40 per cent. But while the volume of buying has gone down, educational programs have increased.

She says collections being are used for more than simply enhancing the walls of the company and its image.

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