Banking on art: New York's recently reopened--and dramatically enlarged--Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) will feature highlights from The UBS Art Collection, beginning February 4.

In addition to its sponsorship of Art Basel and Art Basel Miami Beach, UBS is about to make another strong impact on the contemporary art world when highlights from The UBS Art Collection go on view at MoMA, following the museum's recent return to its Manhattan home. Contemporary Voices: Works from The UBS Art Collection (February 4-April 25, 2005) will celebrate the gift of contemporary art to the museum by UBS with an exhibition of more than 70 works--44 donated to MoMA and approximately 35 on loan. The exhibition is organised by Ann Temkin, Curator, Department of Painting and Sculpture at MoMA.

A major portion of The UBS Collection constitutes works from the former PaineWebber Art Collection, which passed into the hands of UBS when it acquired the American financial institution in 2000. The PaineWebber collection, which has been called "one of the greatest contemporary art collections in America," was assembled under the leadership of its chairman, Donald B. Marron, former PaineWebber Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, who is also a long-time trustee, former president and current vice-chairman of MoMA.

Who's who of contemporary art

The core of the UBS Art Collection dates back 1971, beginning with a modest selection of contemporary prints, including works by Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg and Roy Lichtenstein. Since then the collection has grown substantially, notably with the addition of the PaineWebber holdings, to include more than 900 paintings, photography, works on paper and sculpture. The bank declines to put a specific figure on its value, which is estimated at between 100 and 150 million dollars.

It covers a broad spectrum of works that include abstract paintings by Willem de Kooning and Brice Marden, figurative paintings by Philip Guston and Chuck Close, Minimalist sculpture by Dan Flavin and Donald Judd, large-format photography by Andreas Gursky and Thomas Struth and significant works on paper by Jenny Holzer and Cy Twombly.

Petra Arends, Collection Executive, who assumed overall management of The UBS Art Collection early last year, says that it represents a veritable "who's who in the world of contemporary art." A committee of experts has been evaluating the holdings, whittling it down to what she describes as "museum-quality works." Members include, for example, Jean-Christophe Ammann, retired director of the Frankfurt Contemporary Art Museum and Donald Matron himself, who is according to Dr. Arends "the motor behind this extraordinary collection." Dr. Arends insists that the collection will not remain static, adding that guidelines have been formed to maintain the quality of the collection at its present level.

Plans are underway for an international tour following the MoMA show. Asked whether there might be a museum in UBS's future, Petra Arends says, "It's not a priority at this point. We want to share this unique collection with our employees, clients and shareholders and have developed a web museum (www.ubs.com/artcollection), where we will organise art shows just like in a real museum."

UBS Art Banking

The heightened visibility of The UBS Art Collection will certainly add luster to UBS Art Banking, set up in 1998 as part of the bank's Wealth Management Solutions. "Recognising that art can form an important part of an individual's portfolio, we thought we should offer something special to our Private Banking clients," says Dr. Arends, who formerly was a director in the Art Banking unit. "This is another illustration of the bank's commitment to art." Art Banking offers a wide range of services: buying and selling art--privately, through dealers or at auction; providing evaluations; answering legal, taxation and inheritance questions; helping with insurance and transportation. It also provides access to experts all over the world on an as-needed basis.

When asked whether she considers art a good investment, Dr. Arends says that that is not easy to answer. She tipped her hand to the affirmative, however, in an article she wrote for Zurich's Neue Zuricher Zeitung, in which she referred to the Mei/Moses Index as "the most comprehensive data base for evaluating works of art," in reaching her conclusions. "Although the Mei/Moses All Art Index fell by 4.9 percent in 2002, that appears modest in comparison with the S&P 500, which lost 22.1 percent," she wrote. "It is also interesting to note than, in annualised terms, the Index for the past 50 years outperformed the S&P 500. She went on to corn pare the Mei/Moses Index database with other tools the bank uses for assessing other investment categories, concluding that it helps make the characteristics of art as a form of investment more transparent.

While convinced that investing in art might be a wise decision long-term, in addition to giving those who buy and appreciate it an additional emotional dividend, Petra Arends is quick to add the proviso that "you have to go after the right pieces." To help clients decide just what are the "right pieces", Art Banking can provide access to experts, such as Jean-Christophe Ammann.

Corporate Sponsorship

Similar thinking--going with the winners--applies to the UBS corporate sponsorship program, which works in beautiful synergy with Art Banking and The UBS Art Collection. Its most high-profile art sponsorships are Art Basel, the world's leading showcase of modern and contemporary art, of which UBS has served as principal sponsor for a dozen years, and the highly successful Art Basel Miami Beach, which it has sponsored from its beginning in 2002.

"We sponsor these fairs because they are such important events in contemporary and modern art," says Anton Glogger, unit head within the Global Sponsoring department. "They are an important platform for demonstrating our commitment to art and give us international exposure."

Other recent instances of UBS art sponsorship in the U.S. included masterworks from the Ran Collection at the Portland Art Museum and POP! at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Another example of high-profile sponsorship is London's Tate Modern, of which UBS is a founding corporate partner and supported Andy Warhol and Lucien Freud exhibitions the "Cruel & Tender" photography show--all in 2003. In Switzerland, UBS is a partner of the Fondation Beyeler in Basel, as well as the highly regarded Photography Museum in Winterthur.