Székely Zoltán: Arrabona - Múzeumi Közlemények 50/1. (Győr, 2012)
Tanulmányok - Rechnitzer János: Kortárs gyűjtők és gyűjtemények
ARRABONA 2012. 50/1. TANULMÁNYOK CONTEMPORARY COLLECTORS AND COLLECTIONS The big secret of art collecting is the person of the collector and the factors that motivate the creation of collections. The aim of this study is to look into the main social factors of the past and contemporary art collectors and provide information about the trends - or more precisely about the transformation - of the collectors’ society. After a brief historical overview the results of some studies that treated the collectors of the state socialist era are introduced. It can be suggested that in this period the collecting of the non-subsidized objects of arts was the passion of the traditional intellectuals. The collecting activity was influenced by the higher income activities, the wider social connection network and the representation of and adherence to the civil values. These factors prevailed mainly in case of the physicians, lawyers, some circles of the journalists, the members of other artistic fields or the craftsmen of the bigger cities - especially in Budapest, consequently, the most important collectors from the 1950s until the 1980s came from these circles. The political system change brought a considerable restructuration of the collecting society that could be demonstrated by a study of a series of publication introducing the contemporary collectors. These publications contain information about 80 private collectors and the composition of their collections. Based on them it can be suggested that the players of the new and successful business branches turned towards the art collecting; they are much younger than the previous generation; and they are also able to create wider collections. The paper also surveys the schools and artists represented by the different collections. The study provides valuable information about the collecting activity as a passion, the progressive and accepted artists and schools as well as their inclusion process into the private collections. János Rechnitzer 314
