As a veteran of the interior design and architecture profession, I have decades of experience designing corporate headquarters, replacement hospitals, law firms, new buildings on university campuses, and now hotels around the globe. Those of us in this field naturally gravitate toward and have an appreciation of art whether through our upbringing, travel, or art history classes.
In long term design projects, the final art package is often managed by an outside art consultant, usually because our fees run thin at the end of the job. (In some cases, the wife of a law firm partner may end up with the responsibility) Whatever the case, it is frequently viewed by developers or owners as a "nice to have" but not a "need to have". At the end of a long project they just want to get the office (or science building) open so they can start being productive again.
The designer's vision and intent of a given space has the potential of either grand success or falling flat- through many causes: acoustics, lighting and yes, artwork.
Allow me to set the stage ...