(image - Josef Albers, Homage to the Square: In Late Red, 1959.

This week I thought I would focus on an extensive corporate art collection - that of JPMorgan Chase.

The JPMorgan Chase Art Collection began in 1959 when David Rockefeller, then president of The Chase Manhattan Bank, established the firm’s art program and took the lead in corporate art collecting.

By using a programmatic approach to acquisitions, this collection became a model for other companies worldwide.

In 1960, under Rockefeller’s leadership, an illustrious group of art experts were invited to join an advisory committee to guide the program’s acquisition strategy and set the standard for corporate art practices and administration.

Joining Rockefeller on the Art Committee were renowned museum directors and curators, including Alfred Barr and Dorothy Miller (The Museum of Modern Art); James Johnson Sweeney (Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum); Robert Hale (The Metropolitan Museum of Art); Perry Rathbone (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) and Gordon Bunshaft (SOM).

With a mandate for high quality and originality, the committee established the pattern that the firm follows to this day. The JPMorgan Chase Art Collection is now one of the oldest and largest corporate collections in the world, focusing on modern and contemporary painting, sculpture, works on paper and photography. The core collection is enhanced by a diverse range of objects from every country in which JPMorgan does business, offering a unique perspective on the firm’s culture.