 A wealthy landowner, he invested his fortune in patronage and art collecting, becoming one of the main local promoters of modern art, and a sponsor of the Romanian Symbolist movement.Together with other Post-Impressionist and Symbolist cultural figures, Bogdan-Pitești established "Societatea Ileana", which was one of the first Romanian associations dedicated to promoting the avant-garde and independent art.He was also noted for his friendship with the writers Joris-Karl Huysmans, Alexandru Macedonski, Tudor Arghezi and Mateiu Caragiale, as well as for sponsoring, among others, the painters Ștefan Luchian, Constantin Artachino and Nicolae Vermont.