Why Eaton Vance Chose ArtLifting...Twice

Liz Powers recently had the opportunity to interview Jeff Beale and Mike Costello of Eaton Vance, a $422.3 billion global asset management company with offices in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Jeff Beale is the Chief Administrative Officer for Eaton Vance, responsible for overseeing the firm’s administrative departments, including mutual fund services and dealer services, information technology, fund administration, corporate operations, real estate management and human resources. Mike Costello is a Vice President in the company’s Facilities department. Eaton Vance recently moved their responsible investing group, Calvert Research and Management to Washington, D.C., and chose to purchase ArtLifting art for the office.

Calvert Employees "ArtLifting" Charles Unterberg's "A Quiet Street On Broadway Toward The ABC Carpet Building"

1. Why did you choose to purchase art from ArtLifting?

Jeff: Our office in Washington D.C. is comprised of about 35 people who are involved in reviewing and conducting analysis on companies around the world and how they measure up in terms of being socially responsible citizens and corporations. This team thinks about social issues all of the time. We recognized that these socially aware investors and research analysts would really appreciate the company’s support for the artists at ArtLifting.

2. What has the reaction been to the artwork?

Jeff: Unbelievable. The employees keep saying “We love the artwork and we especially love the plaques next to each piece of describing the artist.” Our employees are telling us that they want to take the art home, and I’m recommending they go online to ArtLifting.com to buy some art for themselves! In 20 years of working in this field, I’ve never experienced this kind of reaction. Also, when we have clients come to visit us a Calvert, we are excited for them to see our commitment to social responsibility through our choice of artwork.

"Falls After a Storm" and "Ocean Over the Skies" by Clyde R. Horn

3. Sometimes, you read articles about millennials caring a lot about working in places that give back. Do you think that ArtLifting is a cause that appeals more to younger employees?

Jeff: I heard comments not only from the millennials but from employees of all ages that the art is terrific and that the organization is great. So I think the enthusiasm crosses all ages.

4. How is it working with ArtLifting? From soup to nuts? From ideation to instillation?

Jeff: Honestly, I’d say it was seamless. An incredibly good job and partnership. I shared a list of the pieces we were interested in and I had a quote the next day. We approved it that same day and everything started from there. We were in constant communication throughout the process and there was follow up afterwards. There were no issues, nothing outstanding and we’re looking forward to the next collection already. The whole process was very easy.

"Sunset Marsh" by Cynthia Perdigao

5. Why did you choose to purchase from ArtLifting a second time?

Mike: The first time went so well, the ArtLifting staff were wonderful to work with, and our employees were incredibly pleased with the artwork choices. ArtLifting’s mission works really well with everything we’re trying to accomplish at Eaton Vance and with our subsidiary, Calvert.

Jeff: When I was in the DC office recently, our employees were so verbal. I often travel to our other locations and I can’t think of anytime that anybody came up to me to tell me the artwork is fabulous...they don’t say anything. Employees just expect nice artwork on the wall but in D.C, it was crazy, in a really good way.

"Art Jam" by Linda King

6. Any final thoughts?

Mike: ArtLifting makes it simple because of is the one stop shopping. We typically furnish our offices with a combination of traditional and modern pieces of art, different mediums in different settings to complement the particular workspace, which we believe blends together in a cohesive manner. ArtLifting’s offerings were right in line with our approach. We were offered multiple types of artwork in various sizes to fit our particular needs. It was easy to search online to say “okay we like this, and this, and this would piece would work really well here.” The entire process was very easy, from our initial conversations with the ArtLifting staff, to item identification, purchasing, framing, and finally, to installation.