Partnering with Top Collectors and Art Advisors
As you have likely experienced at some point in your collecting journey, the art world can be challenging to navigate and many collectors choose to enlist an art advisor to help guide them through it. On the occasion of ARTnews having just published their annual list of the Top 200 Collectors and an accompanying list of the Top 145 Professionals, we are excited to shed light on some of the work that Museum Exchange has been doing behind the scenes with members of these two communities.
Kianja Strobert, Untitled, 2011, mixed media on paper, 30 x 20 inches. Collection of Figge Art Museum; Gift of Candace Worth, New York.
This year we have had the privilege of working with a number of the most prominent collectors in the country. One such individual who has been a regular presence on the ARTnews list for decades came to us with 35 artworks that no longer fit the criteria of their collection. We were successful in placing 31 of them on our first try with one of our quarterly catalogues. These were not marquee works—most would struggle in a day sale at one of the big auction houses—and yet they amounted to nearly $600,000 of charitable value that can be counted against the collector’s taxes, and will enrich the collections of museums in 12 different states.
Sam Moyer, Flannery's Stone, 2017, stone, hand-painted canvas mounted to MDF panel, 91 1/2 x 52 x 3/4 inches. Collection of Columbus Museum of Art; Gift of Bendit Collection, NY. Courtesy of Pettit Art Partners.
While we are always thrilled to work directly with collectors, over the last year we have been seeing more and more of these relationships initiated through art advisors, including many from the ARTnews list. Given our expertise with art donations, these peers turned to us to assist their clients with downsizing and refining their collections, clearing the way for a smaller lifestyle footprint or more wallspace for new acquisitions. These fruitful partnerships have been the source of numerous artworks by artists such as Ebony Patterson, Alison Saar, and John Stezaker; and have resulted in donations distributed to institutions all across the country, from the Crocker Art Museum (Sacramento, CA) to the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (Chicago, IL) and Knoxville Museum of Art (Knoxville, TN).
Museum Exchange has been a valuable partner in helping us find meaningful institutional homes for objects. This productive collaboration allows our collector patrons to expand their philanthropic giving beyond the museums with which they are already closely involved. Works have found permanent homes in public spaces within pockets of the nation where they, and their artist makers, can be truly appreciated by new audiences.
– Goodman Taft, October 2025
In today’s soft market, donations are an increasingly attractive option, especially as the delta between what museums want and what the market is pushing continues to widen. If you have artworks that you are ready to part with and want to consider donations as an option, please reach out (or have your advisors do so). We’d love to help you find a home for them among our network of over 425 museums, hospitals, and universities.
