ArtTour International Magazine
“Meet The Top Ten World’s Most Influential Art Collectors”
No list of the world’s most influential art collectors can be definitive, as potential metrics range from aesthetic impact and monetary value to the sheer quantity of collected works. However, there are certainly a number of collectors who have continued to distinguish themselves. Among them, we have gathered ten who have had a continued and consequential effect on the global art scene.
David Geffen
Perhaps most famous for his business endeavors in the music and movie industries, this American business magnate has a long and rich history of philanthropy to the arts and private art collection. In 2015, he donated 100 million dollars to the Lincoln Center. In the next two years, he pledged 100 million dollars to the Museum of Modern Art in New York and 150 million dollars to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In June 2021, his donation of 150 million dollars allowed for the Yale School of Drama to transition to a tuition-free program. According to longtime director of Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Paul Shimmel, “piece for piece, work for work, there’s no collection that has a better representation of postwar American art than David Geffen’s.” Among the artists in Geffen’s private collection, which some estimate to be the most extensive private art collection at a value of at least 2.3 billion dollars, are Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, and Jackson Pollack. One of Geffen’s more noteworthy recent additions, acquired in February 2020, is David Hockney’s “The Splash,” for which he paid 30 million dollars at auction.
François Pinault
French businessman, founder of luxury and fashion group Kering, and the family investment firm Artémis bought his first major work, “Cour de ferme” by Paul Sérusier, in 1980. After focusing on collecting works by 20th-century masters Piet Mondrian and Pablo Picasso, Pinault turned his attention to contemporary pioneers such as Bruce Nauman, Robert Ryman, and Jeff Koons. In the early 2000s, Pinault announced his plans to open a museum to exhibit his renowned collection in Paris. Still, a series of administrative and legal obstacles forced him to abandon the project in 2005. After that, beginning in 2006, the Pinault Collection was exhibi
ted in Venice at Palazzo Grassi SpA. The subsequently acquired Punta della Dogana was restored by legendary Japanese architect Tadao Ando. The two then teamed up, as announced in 2016, to transform the Bourse de Commerce in the heart of Paris into a new museum that would serve as the permanent home of the Pinault Collection. After a delay due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the 7,000-square-meter museum opened in May 2021 to much critical and public acclaim. In addition, the collection regularly appears in off-site exhibitions around the globe, including in Moscow, Stockholm, and Seoul.
Poju and Anita Zabludowicz
Philanthropist Anita and her husband, Finnish-born British billionaire businessman Poju, have been a fixture in the contemporary art world since the 1990s when they began to amass the 500-artist, 5,000-piece collection. Collectively known as the Zabludowicz Collection, the works are primarily exhibited in three international locations: 176 Gallery in north London, 1500 Broadway at Times Square in New York City, and Sarvisalo Island in Finland. In addition, the collection not only organizes residencies and exhibitions but also collaborates with other institutions on loans and exhibitions. Beyond their eponymous collection, the couple engages in a wide range of activities to support the arts. Anita’s work as a philanthropist and patron earned her the Order of the British Empire in 2015. Poju has served as Council Member of Tate Modern International since 2015, Co-Chairman of British Friends of the Art Museums of Israel, and Founding Patron of Camden Arts Centre. The couple’s ardent advocacy for the arts is embodied by their 28-year-old second child, Tiffany. She continues to carve out her own unique niche as a collector and curator with an extraordinary passion for championing modern women artists.
Charles Saatchi
Iraqi-British entrepreneur, co-founder of the acclaimed advertising firms Saatchi & Saatchi and then M&C Saatchi, Charles Saatchi first entered the art scene in 1969 at the age of twenty-six. In February 1985, he opened to the public the Saatchi Gallery, which housed pieces from his private collection—including works by Julian Schnabel, Andy Warhol, and Donald Judd. After this period of focus on American Minimalists, Saatchi went on to support Young British Artists such as Damien Hirst and Marc Quinn. At this time, he became arguably the most influential global promoter of art in the world with successes such as the touring exhibition “Sensation.” In addition to these efforts, Saatchi has been a consistent philanthropist. In 1998, he donated 130 works to Christie’s auction to provide scholarships to four London art schools. The following year saw a donation of approximately 100 works to the British public, while, in 2010, he donated the Saatchi Gallery and more than 200 pieces to the same public. He has recently turned his attention to the emerging world of digital art and NFTs (nonfungible tokens) with artists such as Philip Colbert.
Philip Niarchos
Greek billionaire and eldest son to the shipping tycoon Stavros Niarchos, Philip inherited his father’s fortune and the vast majority of his father’s art collection. The latter is a treasure trove of impressionist and modern art, believed to be the most extensive private collection of Vincent van Gogh’s work, including “Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear,” and filled with some of the world’s most recognizable paintings, including the legendary Picasso “Yo, Picasso.” Though Niarchos is notoriously hesitant to disclose existing holdings and new acquisitions, the richness and diversity of his collection are hinted at by some of his own purchases that have been made public. These include the auction acquisitions of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s “1982 Self Portrait,” Andy Warhol’s “Red Marilyn” in 1994, and “Green Burning Car I” in 2007. Philip is further suspected of being the anonymous buyer of Van Gogh’s “Self-Portrait” in 1998. In addition to continuing the creation of what may be the world’s largest private art collection, Niarchos serves on the Board of Trustees at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and as an International Council Member of the Tate Gallery in London.