DALLAS, TX.- One of the most purposeful and functional international art collections to fully integrate into the fabric of Corporate American Culture will be featured at Heritage Auctions’ American Icon: G.E. Corporate Art Collection Part I Showcase Auction on Friday, February 11.

The GE Corporate Art Collection was established by the General Electric Company in the early 1970s. GE was preparing to move to its new World Headquarters in Fairfield, Conn. At its core, the collection was functional and visible throughout the organization. More than 90% of the collection was displayed and integrated into many of the company’s locations around the world, including Washington D.C., New York, and London. GE is based in Boston and now has 241 offices spread across 67 countries.

“One of the things I like about this collection is how holistic it is. This event has something for every collector, including our landscape bidders, print collectors, admirers of abstraction, and lovers of bronze sculpture,” says Rebecca Van Norman, Heritage Auctions Consignment Director of Prints and Multiples.

Art advisor Glenn Macura and his team managed the corporate collection for over 20 years, overseeing new acquisitions, ongoing conservation, and a diverse, rotating exhibition series. With a commitment to collecting works from both emerging and established artists, across various mediums and styles, this collection is one of the most diverse, culturally significant offerings of its kind to ever come to auction.

“There are so many incredible stories to be told about these artworks, not just the impressive creative expressions within the artwork, but also of how they became an appreciated and integral part of the collection,” says Macura. “Through exhibitions like the Women on the Verge, or the Diversity Exhibition Series, which dates back to GE’s first Black History Month exhibit in February 2000, we were able to bring pieces such as Selekman’s Untitled (Mermaid), Caporael’s Salt Marsh Suite and the amazing Gee’s Bend prints of Bendolph and Bennett into the collection.”

These prints are inspired by the quilts of Gee’s Bend, Ala., where African-American women of this remote community have created hundreds of quilts for more than a century. New York Times art critic Michael Kimmelman once called the quilts “some of the most miraculous works of modern art America has produced.”

The American Icon GE Corporate Art Collection Part I includes 190 lots and is a limited-time opportunity to bid on some of the most exceptional works from this collection. Featured artists include Louisiana Bendolph, Natvar Bhavsar, Rob Carter, Daniel Greene, Andrew Moore, and Janice Biala.

The G.E. Corporate Collection Part II Showcase Auction will be held June 17. Part III will be included in Heritage’s Fine & Decorative Arts Showcase Auction August 11.