The US-based private bank and international auction house are joining forces for a new arts initiative.

Citi Private Bank is partnering with international auction house Sotheby’s, focusing more attention on how the bank works with art investors and collectors as part of its value offering.

The partnership involves events and films to celebrate Art: Beyond Borders, a programme designed to capture art’s ability to transcend borders and promote a greater understanding of the world. The programme brings treasures by artists to life, including works by Paul Gauguin and Leonardo Da Vinci.

Along with a number of other banks and specialist advisory firms, Citi Private Bank advises ultra-high net worth individuals about investing in, collecting and curating art. Such activity can deepen client loyalty and help wealth advisors learn more about how clients think. The recent Art Basel and UBS report on the total art market gives a global figure of $67 billion for art sales. 

Citi Private Bank and Sotheby’s have commissioned five films in the ongoing series, Anatomy of an Artwork: Most Famous Artworks in the World. Each film will celebrate a masterpiece residing in one of the world’s great institutions, and provide insider access and fascinating detail through expert insight. The first work of art featured in the series is Paul Gauguin’s ‘Woman holding a fruit’, a Post-Impressionist masterpiece dating from the artist’s first stay in Tahiti and residing in The State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia. 

A series of co-hosted events will welcome select Citi Private Bank and Sotheby’s clients to engage with and acquire various forms of art. Events will be held in Dubai, Mexico City, London, Buenos Aires and São Paulo.

“We share a curiosity for culture and appreciation of art with our Citi Private Bank clients. We were the first private bank to establish an art advisory service in 1979 and it has been an area of growth for us ever since,” said Suzanne Gyorgy, Global Head, Citi Private Bank Art Advisory & Finance.