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Corporate art on the block
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April 29, 1997: 1:55 p.m. ET
Sotheby's spring auction will reap the benefits of corporate downsizing
From Correspondent Rhonda Schaffler
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - In an era of corporate cost-cutting, companies are downplaying and in some cases unloading their art collections. CBS is the latest company selling pricey paintings and sculptures to shore up the bottom line.
The company hopes to raise $14 million by selling 37 pieces of art which used to hang in the corporate offices of CBS. The network's new owner, Westinghouse, decided to get out of the business of art collecting.
With one eye on the bottom line and the other on the hot art market, selling art is a way to raise cash and appear less extravagant.
 
"The interest has been immense," said Arne Glimcher, chairman of PaceWildenstein Gallery. "These are great works of art selected by Frank Stanton and Bill Paley from the CBS collection some 25 years ago when it was formed."
Most of the CBS pieces will be sold at Sotheby's. The auction house estimates this Franz Kline (pictured below) will sell for more than a million dollars. CBS bought the painting in 1964 for $19,000.
One of the most successful corporate art auctions was held at Sotheby's two years go, where 160 pieces from IBM's art collection were sold for more than $31 million.
Other corporations selling their art include Time Warner and Alcoa. But the trend toward selling doesn't mean corporations have stopped buying.
"We hear about the ones that are selling but in fact there are many others that are also collecting and they generally do it very quietly," said David Redden, senior vice president at Sotheby's.
Chase Manhattan and PaineWebber are still in the art market, and brokerage house Furman Selz is expanding its collection of rare French posters. However, these current corporate collectors are more cost-conscious.
And, art experts say that many companies now lean toward lesser known artists, whose works don't command top dollar. 
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