British Airways Selling Its Art Collection - What Does This Mean For Corporations?

When I read this article on BBC.com today, many thoughts ran through my mind. This is not necessarily bad news. This is definitely news and there are many reasons why we all should be paying attention.

The selling off of a prestigious art collection worth millions of dollars owned by British Airways is the first of what I believe to be many more corporate de-accessioning of high-value art collections. British Airways has announced it is selling off its multi-million-dollar art collection filled with high profile artists to try to keep its company operating during these unprecedented times. We saw this happen during the last economic recession, but somehow this time seems different.

The interesting thing about this collection, in particular, is that British Airways bought some of the up and coming Young British Artists when they were relatively unknown, as investments. The article states that the collection includes art by Damien Hirst, Bridget Riley and Peter Doig, with one work believed to have been valued at more than £1m. Have these artworks increased in value? Absolutely, especially if they did indeed purchase these works when the artists were relatively unknown. How much they increased, we won't know until they are Appraised or Sold. A qualified and Accredited Art Appraiser will be able to determine the accurate Fair Market Value vs. speculation which seems to run rampant in the art world.

This story reinforces my commitment to helping my clients understand the value of working with Qualified Art Appraisers and Advisors as all too often I am the bearer of bad news for my clients when it is too late. They purchased art on vacation or from commercial galleries or not reputable dealers and were sold work they can never really sell, at least not anywhere close to the price they paid for the work.

Can Art Be a Good Investment - absolutely!

Is Art Always a Good Investment - absolutely not!

Stay tuned to see what the realized prices will be of this collection when they do eventually sell.

Read Article on BBC