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Why the World’s Biggest Banks Are Getting Into the Art Advisory Business

For collectors whose art is one line item among many on a balance sheet, banks can fold art consulting into a broader wealth management strategy.

You may think of banks as places to keep savings, take out loans and manage credit cards—but a growing number of major financial institutions also want to help you build and manage your art collection. Citi and Emigrant banks have been in the lead here, but Bank of America is the most recent to launch an art consulting service for its high-net-worth private banking clients. “We help clients acquire works of art, whether they’re just starting or they’re looking to refine their collections,” Drew Watson, head of Bank of America’s art services group, told Observer. “And then also consignment services. That’s the service that we offer on the sell side, where we help clients sell art through partnerships with the major global auction houses like Christie's and Sotheby’s.” The offerings don’t stop there. “We also formalized our art planning expertise, where we’re actively talking with clients about incorporating art into their estate plan, thinking about the succession plan for an art collection, and then also helping them think through all of the tax and non-tax related issues that relate to the transition of a collection.”

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Banks weren’t always so attentive to clients who collected art. Whatever bank steel magnate Andrew Carnegie used probably didn’t advise him on which Old Master paintings to purchase,........

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