Deutsche leads the way with art collection

Deutsche Bank has one of the world's largest commercially owned collections of modern pictures, prints and sculpture, reported the Evening Standard on 11 July 2001.

There are 2,500 contemporary works by well-known artists at Deutsche Bank's London Wall offices, where staff are able to take guided tours of the collection. Each of the 120 conference rooms in the building are dedicated to an artist, with examples of his or her work together with written commentaries.

The London collection, thought to be worth GBP 2.5 million includes limited-edition prints by artists such as Francis Bacon, Damien Hirst, as well as sculptures by Rachel Whiteread and Anish Kapoor. Works of art even appear in the photocopying rooms in the basement of the building. Mary Findlay, curator of the collection believes that the Deutsche collection helps demystify modern art. "The Bank buys firstly for its staff - it is not about art for investment's sake" Findlay explains.