About the collection

Explore the history of our collection, learn about our current programs, and get in touch

Fostering passionate discussion for over 45 years

The Progressive Art Collection promotes our company culture—the unique confluence of our people, values, aspirations, and work environment—by encouraging the pursuit of innovation and change.

The Progressive Art Collection challenges our natural inclination to remain inflexible in the face of an ever-growing need to be open to new ideas and alternative perspectives. In concert with Progressive’s Core Values, the Progressive Art Collection presents excellence in artistic achievement while providing a stimulating work environment that encourages open-mindedness to what is unfamiliar and different.

Wholly committed to creativity and diversity in our corporate community, the Corporate Art department uses The Progressive Art Collection as a tool to spark rich dialogue about the ideas and concerns of our time, ultimately inspiring our people to risk, learn, and grow. Sometimes bold and beautiful, sometimes subtle and profound, and always reflecting Progressive’s culture of change, art at Progressive changes you whether you know it or not.

My main goal was to put together one of the best corporate contemporary art collections in the country. My objective was to challenge our natural inclination to be inflexible in the face of an ever-growing need to be open to new ideas and alternative perspectives.

toby devan lewis

Founding Curator, The Progressive Art Collection

Peter B. Lewis on the founding of the Progressive Art Collection:

“I wanted to hang modestly priced art made by contemporaries of Progressive’s wonderful young people on the walls of the offices. It would be a creative and economical way to make the space pleasing and interesting for the people working in it, communicate our respect for creativity, and support the careers of excellent young artists. This ambition was an extension of the philosophy that governed the building of Progressive—doing things differently in part just because they were different, challenging Progressive people to think ‘outside the box,’ and making it enjoyable to come to work.”

Toby Devan Lewis on the philosophy of the Progressive Art Collection:

“My main goal was to put together one of the best corporate contemporary art collections in the country. My objective was to challenge our natural inclination to be inflexible in the face of an ever-growing need to be open to new ideas and alternative perspectives. Art on the walls became a symbol of Progressive’s commitment to change. I never expected to get all of the people to like the art, but rather to engage everyone in a dialogue about ideas and transformation. I began to understand the role that art could play in humanizing the workplace, stimulating productivity, and reflecting the vitality of the company.”

A quick look at how our collection evolved

1974: The year the Progressive Art Collection began, with 30 artworks acquired that year.
2,000: Number of contemporary artists from around the world, continuously rotated in the collection.
10,000: Artworks now in the collection, distributed throughout 400 offices countrywide.

In 1985, Toby Devan Lewis worked with Progressive leadership to establish the Corporate Art department.
The collection’s mission is provocation. The presence of art in our workplace is meant to provoke people to share with one another their critical perspective on the art and its relationship to the times in which we live.
On average, Progressive acquires 150 artworks for the collection each year.
The collection is distributed and regularly rotated throughout our over 400 offices countrywide.
No art is kept in storage. We purposefully collect art to share it with our people.
The art education program reaches all 39,000 employees across the country through in-classroom, exhibition gallery, and distance learning seminars.
Progressive hosts a People’s Biennial exhibition showcasing the artwork of artists that work at Progressive.
In 1980, Progressive began commissioning forward-thinking artists to create art for our Annual Report. Now, in its 40th year, it has become a one-of-a-kind art book series.

Get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.

You can contact us at:

The Progressive Art Collection
300 North Commons Blvd. Mayfield Village, Ohio 44143
artinfo@progressive.com

We accept portfolios via email or by post. Recommended portfolio content:

Artist’s statement of purpose
Exhibition pamphlets, catalogues, press, or other pertinent bibliographic support material
Artist’s CV
10 to 20 images

If the above information is published on the artist’s website, please provide us the web address. This is a suitable and sufficient way of introducing us to your work.

Internship program

The Progressive Art Collection offers a valuable experience that places the intern in a world-renowned contemporary art collection supported by a skilled staff. As such, the internship rewards participants with practical knowledge about contemporary art and art collection management in an imaginative environment.

We provide a variety of internship experiences throughout the year. If you are interested, email your contact information to artinfo@progressive.com and we’ll share application opportunities as they become available.

The Corporate Art team

Morgan Hughes, Registrar
Julia Milbrandt, Preparator
Kristin Rogers, Art Education and Communications Manager
H. Scott Westover, Curator