Samsung Art Dynasty: from Traditional to Contemporary Art

Art, news

Recently, the halls of power are set to welcome a new member - a museum dedicated to over 20,000 artworks and antiquities from the late Samsung chairman's art collection.

Kim Whanki, Woman and Jars, 1950s

This collection was donated to seven South Korean museums after Lee's death in 2020, given as a means of avoiding the highest estate-tax bills in the country's history. However, the permanent exhibition of this trove still sparks debate over how and where to present such precious pieces of art.

According to Lee, the Ministry's director of cultural infrastructure, the donation has illuminated culture, revealing its radiance to the world. Lee also stated that they are preparing an architectural competition, with a view to opening in December 2027. While acknowledging the varying views regarding the museum's presentation, Lee remarked that the ministry's approach remains steadfast - to ensure more people can savour the collection.

The Samsung Group, founded by Lee Byung-chul in 1938, has always retained a family-oriented approach since its inception in the city of Daegu. Initially established as a trading firm for dried fish and other food items, it eventually grew into a sprawling conglomerate spanning various industries over subsequent decades. Samsung Electronics, its most renowned component, earned over $200 billion in revenues last year. Despite this, it represents only a single piece of the puzzle, with a mind-boggling labyrinth of companies involved in everything from shipbuilding to hotels, credit cards to life insurance.

Claude Monet, Le Basin aux Nympheas, 1919-20

As the most extensive chaebol in South Korea, Samsung's annual revenue is equivalent to 20 percent or more of the country's GDP, according to certain calculations. Following the passing of the company's founder, Lee Byung-chul, in 1987, his son Lee Kun-hee took over as chairman. Lee Kun-hee expanded Samsung dramatically and proceeded to curate and accumulate an art collection that his father had started.

While the corporate structure of Samsung can often be labyrinthine, the art collection it holds in South Korea is equally remarkable. The Samsung Foundation of Culture manages two museums that safeguard diverse artworks from different ages. However, a considerable portion of the art remains privately owned and shrouded in mystery, purchased by Lee, his wife, Hong Ra-hee, and other members of Samsung's family, who are notoriously private. The breadth and depth of the Samsung family's collection remain unknown to the public, with one Korean art dealer suggesting that talking to them is equivalent to trying to interview a monarch.

Paul Gauguin, Untitled, 1875

Lee Kun-hee linked art intimately with his grand intentions for the company. Geoffrey Cain detailed in his 2020 book, Samsung Rising, that in 1993, he criticised 200 Samsung executives about the necessity of improving their firm's poor-quality electronics for three consecutive days during a meeting at a luxury hotel in Frankfurt, Germany. Lee viewed faulty products as "the root of all evil." Before that, he tasked a scholar on Samsung's payroll, Lee Chong-sun, with obtaining 100 traditional Korean artworks considered National Treasures, the government's highest designation. This collection became the foundation of his grand art collection, with quality being a key aspect.

Lee Kun-hee, together with the accomplished collector Hong, revered for her taste-making in elite circles, expanded their art collection by adding modern and contemporary pieces while still continuing to acquire older works. A recent display of works from the Lee collection at the National Museum of Korea featured ancient stone statues of children, cemetery guardians in the Joseon era, arranged next to a Monet "Water Lily" painting. Lee Kun-hee was a relentless executive and art buyer, and even art meetings presented an opportunity for him to score wins for Samsung.

Park Saeng Kwang, Shaman, 1980

In 1982, as Lee Kun-hee became more involved in Samsung, B.C. Lee established the Ho-Am, his pen name, a personal museum in Yongin, around 40 minutes south of Seoul, to showcase some of his and Samsung's artwork. The gorgeous traditional two-story building is surrounded by a lovely garden and now features a daunting Louise Bourgeois spider sculpture right beside it. Samsung's ever-popular amusement park, Everland, is adjacent to the Ho-Am. In 2008, the police raided its warehouses, looking for artwork, and Hong was questioned regarding accusations of using an illegal Samsung slush fund to acquire artworks, including early pieces from Roy Lichtenstein and Frank Stella. Though she was never charged.

Just like the business, the museum remains a family affair, with Lee Seo-hyun, Jay's sister, being passionate about contemporary art, and Jay, traditional. Lee Seo-hyun, in addition to serving as a trustee for the Dia Art Foundation in New York, also chairs the Leeum's steering committee, while Professor Kim Sung-won from Seoul National University of Science and Technology is the deputy director. According to Kim, the reopening of the Leeum received a passionate response partly due to the Lee Kun-hee collection exhibitions, which demonstrated how art passion contributes to cultural values and collective legacy. There was also an Ian Cheng exhibition and a showcasing of young Korean artists earlier this year. As per several art dealers, the Leeum is actively acquiring artworks, with many treasures continuously going to Samsung.

Pablo Picasso, Portrait of Dora Maar

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