Acquisitions Policy
Our activities also include consultations related to acquisitions of modern art. Since we began our activities, we have been instrumental in making suggestions to many collectors on acquisitions of works by authors of modern art practically unknown or commonly available at the time of the purchase. The works were thus purchased for a hundredth or even thousandth of their current value. Thanks to cooperation with foreign institutions, this expert activity has extended throughout Europe and to the United States.
It has happened that we are first engaged in restoration work for some collections, with verification of the authenticity of current acquisitions, and that subsequently we supplement these collections with other works. It is a well-known fact that well-conceived collections always have a greater value than that of the sum of their components. We performed this work in the Czech Republic for a number of banking houses, of which we can name what was formerly the only and is now the largest insurance company in the country, Česká pojišťovna a.s. Initially, our work on the collections of this company involved restoration research on works of art, which was performed to the full extent, i.e. expert probes were carried out, together with light analyses, expert evaluation, material and technological tests, laboratory analyses of samples and other specialized restoration work intended for comprehensive investigation of the condition of the work of art and the optimum procedure for its further restoration and conservation. This was followed by mapping and evaluation of the collection and determining of the future direction for development of the collection fund, in order to create a strong awareness of this institution as the owner and administrator of a prestigious collection. We promoted this through several exhibitions for which professional catalogues were issued.
Last but not least, we cooperate with government institutions as advisers in the area of selection of representative artistic gifts for state visits and, in this capacity, were entrusted in 1992 with providing for the Czech pavilion at Expo 92 in Seville in Spain.