Collecting practices of the Al-Thani Family

The ruling family of Qatar, the House of Thani, is deeply involved in the field of art. For more than twenty years, some of its members have been accumulating numerous and precious pieces of artwork.

The project Qatar National Vision 2030 promotes the creation of new schools, new universities and new museums. The Cultural development, characterized by new museums and exhibitions, is therefore closely linked to the political motive of building a “knowledge-based economy” in Qatar by 2030.

The journalist Barbara Pollack underlines the central role of the Al-Thani family while comparing Qatar's and Abu Dhabi’s cultural policies: "While Abu Dhabi is making a name for itself by building dramatic local satellites of the Louvres, the Guggenheim and the British Museum, Qatar's scheme of cultural nation building is much more homegrown, establishing its own museums rooted in the collections of its own royal family."

Several members of the Al-Thani family initially led Qatar's interest and involvement into the field of arts and continue to embody and shape the cultural policy of the country. For William Lawrie, previously Head of International Modern Contemporary Arab and Iranian Art at Christie's, “Qatar’s royal family are very much like modern-day equivalents of the Medicis in 16th-century Florence”.

Qatar is depicted as a new "market maker" on the art market. In 2011, The Art Newspaper revealed Qatar is the world’s biggest art buyer.

Many commentators report a faultless strategy: Qatar bid systematically for famous pieces of art. It is a pragmatic but visionary approach that led the country to establish itself as a main player of the world art market. Qatar is advised by high-skilled international experts. Thierry Ehrmann, president and founder of Artprice ("the world leader in art market information") asserts that Qatar has implemented an “outstanding war machine” to make of Doha a “world capital of art”. According to him: "Qatar does not take any risk, takes the best and is willing to pay whatever it takes."

One of the most striking facts about Qatar's presence on the art market is the massive financial resources involved. The royal family and Qatar's cultural institution are upscale subscribers to the databank on art prices and indices Artprice Group. A study conducted by Artprice and Organ Museum Research over the period 2000-2012 revealed that Qatar bid for art works with a margin of 40 to 45% above "market prices". Hence Forbes Magazine estimates that the annual budget for the sole Qatar Museum Authority is about $250 million.

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Wikipedia