“Ziraat Bankası” has supported economic and social development for its integration with its people since the early years of the period of the Republic, and surmounting all kinds of shortages and disadvantages prevailed in the first years of the Republic has set always an example and become pioneer.
Art adds a contemporary and creative power into the society. Our Bank, moving works of art outside the Bank, has integrated its support granted to the art and artists since 1926 with the slogan of “ For the Art, inside the Art” in order to share it with the society and to make the art livable and to this end ensured that the works of art included in the collection have been exhibited at different times.
The oldest one of these Works of Art whose conversion to the collection covers a wide period of time is the oil painting dated 1897, called “Pasture”, bearing the signature of “Hadfiela CUBLEY”. Besides, there includes our painting called “Weaver” drawn by Mehmet Ruhi AREL in 1926, which was brought from our Kütahya Branch and begun to be exhibited at the Museum of our Bank. The oil painting (450x500cm) named with “Gazi Pasha at the Farm” drawn by Namık İSMAİL exclusively for exhibiting same at the side entrance staircase well at our Building of Headquarters was completed in the year of 1929. The painting (4.50x5.30 m.) with the title of “ Harman” (Harvest) bearing the signature of İbrahim ÇALLI exhibited on the right wall of the inner hall is at quite large size and still constitutes a specially prepared a masterpiece.
Masterpieces of the Artists of the Ottoman Artists Association such as Hoca Ali Rıza (1864-1930), Mehmet Ruhi Arel (1880-1931), Mehmet Ali Laga (1878-1947), Şevket Dağ (1876-1944), Feyhaman Duran (1886-1970), Hikmet Onat (1882-1977), Hayri Çizel (1891-1950), Hasan Vecih Bereketoğlu (1895-1971), Ali Rıza Beyazıt (1883-1964), İbrahim Safi (1889-1983), Eşref Üren (1897-1984), Cemal Tollu (1899-1968), Nurullah Berk (1906-1982), Nuri İyem (1915-2005), Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu (1913-1975), etc. are included among the most valuable masterpieces of our Collection.
Turkish Painters in the Period of Republic and the Artists produced masterpieces in the abstract understanding after 1950, at the understanding of figurative art; masterpieces of hundreds of Artists, making production at social realist, surrealist, naive, defamatory understanding, furthermore tending to the new figuration and having masterpieces at pop type and producing works of art with their own special styles, have been carefully archived, printed as reproduction, calendars, etc. by our Bank, and our Bank has been performing and carrying out all kinds of events that may be useful and advantageous in the promotion of our culture.
At present, at our Tünel Art Gallery in İstanbul, at our Mithatpaşa and Kugulu Art Galleries in Ankara, at our Ömer Nafi Güvenli Art Gallery at the Building of the Central Branch in Samsun and our Kızıltan Ulukavak Art Gallery located at the upper flat of the Saranbolu Office art/painting exhibitions have been arranged, excluding summer time, and our art collection has been gradually augmenting and getting rich day by day with over 2000 masterpieces bought from the Artists who exhibited their works of art at our Galleries, including majority painting, watercolor, gouache, pastels, prints, ceramics and sculptures as well.
You can access to photographs of a lot of masterpieces available at Ziraat Bankası Painting Collection from the following link of our Bank’s Facebook page:
/ Ziraat Bankası Art Collection