February 2017: For the first time, the Artist Pension Trust® (APT) is to offer a selection of artworks from its vast holdings at auction. A total of 34 works have been chosen for sales in New York and London in the spring, coming from the studios of trail-blazing contemporary artists including Josh Smith, David Shrigley, Bob & Roberta Smith and Liam Gillick. The proceeds from the sales will benefit artists participating in APT.

Mark Sebba, Chairman of MutualArt, which owns APT, said: “For a decade we’ve had the privilege of working with many of the world’s most promising artists as we have been assembling an unprecedented collection of international contemporary art. But while a small number of works have been sold privately in the last couple of years, this spring’s offering represents the first time that works from the collection will be offered at auction. Now is the time for us to broaden our sales activity by launching our first auctions - providing artists with further returns on their contributions to APT, and unveiling the collection to a new, wider, audience.

Deciding which of the thousands of APT artworks to select for our inaugural sale hasn’t been easy, but, ultimately, we’ve chosen some of our favourite works by artists who have been with us since the very earliest years of the program. Not only do these artworks speak to the tastes of today’s collectors, but reflect the quality and diversity of the collection that APT continues to build and develop each year.”

Artist Pension Trust
APT offers long-term financial security to select artists around the world.

Since launching in 2004, APT has compiled the world’s largest collection of international contemporary art, comprising nearly 13,000 artworks by 2,000 diverse artists in 75 different countries. The artists range from those that have participated in the most important fairs and biennials, and have won some of the most prestigious awards, to young artists who are at an earlier stage in their careers.

APT provides select artists around the world with long-term financial security through its patented mutual assurance model. Each participating artist agrees to deposit 20 artworks over a 20-year period. These deposits are then gradually sold to benefit the participating members.

The program is similar to a cooperative model whereby members who participate benefit from every artwork sold, allowing them to gain from the long-term value appreciation of the collection.