22/08/2001
by Christopher Chambers

After a series of jobs in arts administration, Pari Stave was invited by Equitable in 1985 to assist with their aggressive fine arts program. She consequently assumed the position of curator of the collection and in 1992 became director of the AXA Gallery as well, and continues as such today. AXA Group is a worldwide leader in financial protection and wealth management. AXA's operations are diverse geographically, with major operations in Western Europe, North America and the Asia/Pacific area. As of January, 2001, AXA Financial, which includes the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AXA Group.

Christopher Chambers: What is the thrust of the collecting activities presently?
Pari Stave: At the moment we have a hiring freeze and a job freeze and all kinds of expenses are frozen. But until the very recent past* [*towards the end of 2000] we have been acquiring prints and works on paper, some paintings; by emerging artists - mostly American, but also British. That has built on a collection that was begun around 1984 or 1985.

C.C.: Who are some of the pieces by?
P.S.: One of the artists that we have collected in depth is Terry Frost who has published prints with Charles Booth-Clibborn and the Paragon press. We have purchased just about everything he has produced in the last couple of years. We collected some work not that long ago by Jacob Lawrence just before he passed away, and in some depth there too.

C.C.: Who is the artist that does those rabbit sculptures outside?
P.S.: Barry Flanagan.

C.C.: Right... have you been collecting other works by him?
P.S.: No we haven’t. We do have some prints by Flanagan that were done in the later 1980s.

C.C.: Are they rabbits as well?
P.S.: Oh, rabbits and horses and other creatures.

C.C.: Have you witnessed any of the artworks that you have purchased increase in value?
P.S.: Yes we have. We have some prints by Jasper Johns that have increased quite a bit in value. We have paintings by Lee Krasner and Marsden Hartley. George Bellows especially has increased in value since we bought these artists.

C.C.: I think many people in the real estate market look on a depressed economy with glee, as a great time to find bargains, knowing that it’s cyclical and will bounce back in force.
P.S.: We don’t collect to take advantage of market conditions. We collect purely as a way to have works of art in our offices and in our public areas.

C.C.: How do the exhibitions in the AXA gallery relate to the works that you actually collect?
P.S.: No relationship whatsoever. In the gallery we borrow traveling exhibitions or develop exhibitions with other institutions or hire guest curators to develop exhibitions for us. We are far less restrictive with the gallery than with what we might buy for the corporate collection.