In recent years Australia's major auction houses have been awash with corporate art sales. Sotheby's Australian branches have boasted the consignment of numerous key collections. These have included the extensive holdings acquired by Qantas, Fosters, WMC, Fairfax and AXA. It appears that these companies have capitalised on the potential of the national auction market of late, perhaps lured by the spectacle of the watershed sale of Harold E. Mertz's private collection in June 2000. In the early 1960s Mertz was a wealthy, touring American with a newfound penchant for Australian art. He befriended the prominent art dealer Kym Bonython and entrusted him with the task of selecting a comprehensive array of works by Australian masters. The collection lay somewhat dormant in the bowels of the Jack S. Blanton Museum at the University of texas from 1972, only to be repatriated twenty eight years later and appear in a highly anticipated Christie's auction. The event garnered $15.9 million and has yet to be eclipsed by the sale of a subsequent personal collection in Australia. In the wake of the Mertz auction a number of Australian corporations have realised the profitability of their collections, achieving record prices for historic works of cultural significance. In May of this year, Brett Whiteley's Opera House sold for $2.88 million, relinquishing its position in Sydney's Qantas club lounge.
The role of the corporate art collection in contemporary Australian society has become relatively topical in light of longstanding collections going under the hammer. CEOs state various rationales for liquidating their rich holdings and it is these motivations that form the basis of this case study. The discussion invites a comparative investigation into the collecting approach of particular Australian corporations that on the contrary have been able to withstand any shareholder pressure and not only maintain their established collections but continue to augment them by purchasing the works of emerging artists. Macquarie Bank for instance has been able to do just this.
Preliminary URLography:
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/08/20/1092972753638.html?from=storylhs
An article regarding the Coles Myer sell-off in 2004.
http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2005/s1375751.htm
A transcript from ABC local radio discussing the Fosters sell-off in 2005
http://www.humanities-exchange.org/artbrief/news.htm
A brief article published by the International Art Alliance outlining the Qantas sale and the company's intention to refocus their corporate financial support.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21673364-28737,00.html
An editorial regarding the Qantas art sale
http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/stories/s323759.htm
An Interview with Kerry Stokes in 2001.