A British American Tobacco corporate collection
The BATartventure Collection is a collection of contemporary art owned by British American Tobacco, one of the world’s largest tobacco companies. The collection, previously known as the Peter Stuyvesant Collection, consists of more than 1400 artworks – predominantly paintings – created by artists from more than 40 different countries. British American Tobacco acquired this unique collection from Rothmans International following the merger of both companies in 2000. The collection exists due to a successful experiment with modern art in the corporation's production company in Zevenaar in the late 1950s – a daring experiment for its time. The company’s director then, Alexander Orlow, found the large, visually severe production halls to be bleak and boring for the people who spent a large part of their day there. He changed all this by his revolutionary idea of hanging large colourful paintings above the machinery.

Art works
The responses among employees to this artistic adventure were varied. Whilst some experienced it “as a window to the outside world”, others were of the opinion that “my two-year-old son could make these kinds of paintings, too”. Hierarchy played no role when it came to looking at art. The artworks evoked emotions and prompted discussion. And this was exactly the intention of this experiment. Art “works” by confronting people in their own environment with art. This experiment was the beginning of the BATartventure Collection.

Fine quality
Acquisitions made for the BATartventure Collection have always been made by external advisors. Prominent names in the Dutch art world: Willem Sandberg, former Director of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam; Renilde Hammacher van den Brande, former chief curator for modern art at Museum Boymans van Beuningen in Rotterdam; Wim Beeren, former Director of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam; and since 2001 Martijn Sanders, Director of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. Due to their purchases, the collection has grown over 45 years to become a highly varied international collection of museum-quality art.