Artful Hotels of the World | home
20 Best Artful Hotels
Perhaps you never realized that some extraordinary art collections are on display in hotels. Here is our list of 20 hotels that we feel are among the best.
THE CHARLES HOTEL, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Important realist works by New England and American artists. The collection consists of commissioned art works related to Cambridge and the Charles Square area. A group of Cambridge cityscapes were commissioned for the first floor entrance. On the 2nd and 3rd floors are landscapes of Cambridge, with an emphasis on the Charles river and its natural surroundings. The guest rooms contain original commissioned prints of the Cambridge area, and the restaurant contains vintage turnofthecentury botanical prints
HOTEL DU PONT, Wilmington, Delaware
A collection of paintings by Delaware artists, which span a period of approximately 40 years. The paintings are by local artists or of local scenes. Some of the artists represented in the collection are N.C. Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth, James Wyeth, Howard Pyle, Frank Schoonover, Alexander Charles Stuart, Edward Lis and John Koch. The Hotel du Pont opened in 1913 and is owned and operated by the Du Pont Company.
FAIRMONT HOTEL, San Francisco, California
Contemporary art in all media by both established and emerging artists. Some of the artists represented in the collections are: Richard Diebenkorn, Hassel Smith, Paul Wonner, David Hockney, Tom Holland, Peter Voulkos, Robert Motherwell, Robert Hudson, Arthur Okamura, Fred Reichman, Christopher Brown, William Wiley, Laddie John Dill, Stephen Hopkins, Ellsworth Kelly, Willard Dixon, Ed Moses, Joan Mitchell, Joseph Raffael, Susan Shatter, James Weeks, Tony Delap, Michael Heizer, Frank Lobdell, Ronald Davis and Frank Stella.
A large collection of contemporary art located in the interior and exterior of the hotel. The international collection includes works by Picasso, Leger, Botero, and Warhol. The Picasso estate collection of original lithographs was inherited by his granddaughter, Marina Picasso, and part of this collection is now exhibited in NaPua Gallery, and is part of the personal art collection of Takeshi Sekiguchi, the developer of the Grand Wailea Resort, Hotel & Spa. Leger is represented by a set of 18 bronzes created during 1950 - 1953 and cast posthumously in 1960 one of only two complete sets in the world. Also on display is Leger's painted bronze sculpture, Les Femmes au Perroquet, in the NaPua Gallery. The collection of nine Botero bronzes are displayed within the main lobby atrium. The works by Warhol include 13 works from the "Reversal Series" of Marilyn Monroe.
Collection of paintings, wall reliefs, sculpture. The collection was assembled by the hotel's founder Thorvaldur Gudmundsson, and presents a panorama of modern Icelandic art from its 19th century beginnings to the present day. It includes a unique selection of paintings and drawings by Johannes S. Kjarval (1885 - 1972).
HYATT REGENCY, Bethesda, Maryland
A large amount of commissioned art is located in the Metro Center, primarily in the Hyatt Regency Bethesda Hotel. The collection includes paintings on silk from India, ceremonial objects from Indian Bronze age tribes, handmade patchwork quilts from Afghanistan and Italian and British etchings spanning 200 years. Contemporary objects, primarily by local artists, include paintings, sculpture, and works on paper as well as ceramics, glass and textiles. Special features are a 90 foot high suspended plexiglas sculpture in the atrium by Portland, Oregon, artist Larry Kirkland.
HYATT REGENCY, GRAND CYPRESS, Orlando, Florida
A collection of large-scale, primarily bronze sculpture, which ranges from traditional and modern Asian art to contemporary works by European and American artists. Among artists represented are figurative sculptors John Robinson, Jits Bakker, and Richard Ellis, and abstractionists Lika Mutal and Albert Paley.
The art collection was developed to be of interest to a variety of tastes: styles include representational, historical, international, abstract, even whimsical. Art was collected in a variety of media including sculpture, wall friezes, paintings, cast paper watercolors, ceramics, and textile finishes. The majority of sculpture is site-specific. The art also emcompasses art and artifacts from a variety of international cultures. Some of the examples of sculpture include:20 foot high glass and limestone sculpture by Damian Priour; three ceramic stoneware columns by Jamie Walker; 12 foot wide sculptural gates spanning the entrance to the pool; two 76 inch kinetic sculptures functioning as whimsical weathervanes; and three bronze sculptures by Louis Mueller. Some of the artificats include a hand carved jade collection; a collection of silver buddhas; a group of rare beaded ceramic baskets; a rare feather mask from South America; a group of 18thcentury gold and silver Chinese hairpins; and a collection of 17 pre-Columbian artifacts from Mexican and Peruvian cultures from 700 B.C. to 1200 A.D.
HOTEL INTERCONTINENTAL NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana
A collection of contemporary art by New Orleans artists, entitled "The Imagination Collection." Media include paintings, watercolors, photographs, sculpture, mixed media, silkscreens. A special feature is the sculpture garden in the 5th floor courtyard, which was designed by a collaboration of artists from various disciplines. The courtyard design features large tree sculptures, a colorful mosaic and outdoor musical instruments which produce a mystical tonal quality when activated by wind and water. Some of the artists represented include Wayne Amedee, Barry Bailey, Jacquelyn Bishop, Lin Emery, Doyle Gertjejansen, Robert Gordy, Ida Kohlmeyer, Michael Ledet, Jesse Poimboeuf, R. Steve Rucker, George Schmidt, Rayford Shaw, Harry Soviak, Ed Whiteman, Paulette Whiteman, and Patricia Whitly.
LOEWS ANATOLE HOTEL, Dallas, Texas
A collection of paintings and sculpture with a large quantity of commissioned works. A special feature is a reconstructed white marble pavilion from India and 16 five-foot-high teakwood bells commissioned in Bangkok. The works on display in the Jade Room of the hotel are from the private collection of Trammel Crow, the developer and builder of the hotel.
HOTEL MAJESTIC, Barcelona, Spain
The Hotel Majestic has been known in artistic circles as "the Art Hotel" ever since it hosted the successful show "New Art" in 1996 and 1997. The proprietors' interest in the art world dates back to many years before that, however. The collection displayed throughout the hotel is one result of their interest. This collection features significant artists from the historic vanguards, such as Tapies, Saura, Chillida, Guinovart, Cobo, Rafols Casamada and Gerardo Rueda, as well as top names from the eighties such as Llim¢s, Lluis Lle¢, Miguel Angel Campano, Garcia Sevilla and Plensa.
NIKKO HOTEL, Atlanta, Georgia
A fine collection of over 100 classic and contemporary Japanese art. The collection covers more than three centuries and includes works by about 50 artists. 20th century works, running from the 1920s through pieces commissioned for the hotel, predominate. Contemporary works are either by Japanese artists living in the United States or by American artists of Japanese heritage. Some artworks were imported from Japan. Other works include advertising posters from 1885 to 1920 for the restaurant; 19th-century British prints and paintings for the governor's suite and library bar.
A collection of Japanese art. Near the main building of the hotel is one of the important private museums of Japanese art the Okura Shukokan, established in 1917 by Baron Kihachiro Okura. Okura was an avid collector of Buddhist artwork and he built the museum on his own land to hold and display his treasures. Over the years, the collection was added to by his son Baron Kishichiro Okura, the founder of the hotel, and whose interests included modern Japanese painting, or Nihonga. Today, the Okura Shukokan Museum of Fine Arts houses some 1,706 items and 35,000 volumes -- a collection that contains three National Treasures, 12 Important Cultural Properties, and 44 Important Artistic Properties. The hotel is built on an historically important site: the Edo period estate of the Matsudaira Daimyo of Naebashi. The museum building, designed by Chuta Ito, is a nationallyr-egistered tangible cultural property, and boasts of being a unique space for art appreciation.
REGENT HOTEL, Singapore
The hotel features a museum quality collection of Southeast Asian arts & antiques.
SAS PARK ROYAL HOTEL, Oslo, Norway
A collection of post 1960 Norwegian art. Media include graphics, paintings, works on paper, textiles, and historical artifacts.
SHERATON GRANDE TOKYO BAY HOTEL, Urayasu, Japan
A collection of primarily work by internationally-known California artists. Included are prints by Sam Francis and Richard Diebenkorn as well as tapestries, ceramic wall reliefs, monotypes, and handmadepaper works by emerging artists. The reception area features three commissioned objects, including a fiberglass wall relief by Neda Alihilali, three mixed-media works by Laddie John Dill, and a paper and bamboo relief by Nance O'Banion. The hotel also features antiques and contemporary craft objects.
SHERATON SEATTLE HOTEL AND TOWERS, Seattle, Washington
The 840r-oom Sheraton Seattle Hotel & Towers, which opened in downtown Seattle in 1982, was the first large hotel in the US to feature original artwork in all its guestrooms and public areas. The lithographs, paintings, sculptures, photographs and installations at the hotel form a collection of art valued at well over $1 million. The collection is a comprehensive, representative collection of highquality contemporary art which includes paintings, graphics, photography, sculpture, works on paper, mixed media, crafts. The focus of the collection is the entire Northwest, including British Columbia. The hotel commissioned twelve artists to produce two editions each of 150 original lithographs, and commissioned six photographs by local photographers for use in hotel guest rooms. The restaurant features works by "Northwest masters" Mark Tobey, Morris Graves, Kenneth Callahan, Guy Anderson and others. The private dining room includes 27 pieces of glass made by artists who have taught or worked at the Pilchuck School in Stanwood. A major collection of contemporary Northwest Coast Native American art is installed in public areas on the hotel's first floor.
120 Belgian artists (including Hugo Duchateau, William Sweetlove, and Jean de la Fontaine) were invited to help in the renovation of the hotel. The decoration of the hotel's rooms and lobby were entrusted to young painters, sculptors, and photographers. The main themes are travel and loneliness. Guests can request a room decorated by the artist of their choice.
STRAND INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL, Helsinki, Finland
A collection of Finnish contemporary art. The guest rooms feature eight different series of original graphics by Finnish artists; two new plate services were designed and made by the Arabia Factory specially for the hotel; ProArte glass and ceramic pieces decorate the corridors and the atrium area; and reproductions of furniture by Eliel Saarinen are featured in the Panorama and President suites. The most outstanding pieces, however, are the glass sculptures commissioned from two well-known Finnish glass artists, Professor Oiva Toikka and Markku Salo, for public spaces in the hotel.
WESTIN MAUI HOTEL, Maui, Hawaii
A collection of paintings, sculptures, tapestries, and ceramics, as well as many religious statues and icons, mostly reflecting various periods of Buddhist history. The art originated in the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China, Japan, India, Hong Kong, Thailand, Korea, Burma, Bali and Cambodia, as well as in England, France and Italy. A number of contemporary Hawaiian artists are also represented, most of them following traditional island themes. The paintings from Bali were created as village community projects using all natural fabrics and dyes.
If you would like to suggest other hotels that should be added to this site, please contact:
The Humanities Exchange
Montreal, Canada
jgeustace@earthlink.net