Art Fund Calls for Bolder Approach to Museum Collecting

April 2006In 2004 The Art Fund expressed serious concern about the patterns of public collecting in the UK. It called for a change from the cautious and reactive approach to museum and gallery collecting, and announced that it will, in exceptional cases, offer ‘seed’ money towards works of national or international importance.

Pointing to the nation’s failure to acquire important modern and contemporary masters in the 20th century, notably Picasso, Matisse and the Post-Impressionists, the Art Fund warned against present complacency. ‘It is not just about the works that we’re in danger of losing,’ said Director David Barrie, ‘it’s about the great opportunities that are being missed.’

Crisis reaction

In the UK we tend to focus on works at risk, only recognising the masterpiece under our nose when it comes onto the market. When a foreign buyer or museum snaps it up, and an export license is withheld, a fundraising campaign gets under way. This, as contributors to the Conference emphasised, can be the most expensive and least satisfactory way of securing great works of art: the best-laid plans for a collection are often ‘knocked sideways’ by the urgent need to prevent an immediate ‘loss’.

Narrow horizons

We tend to shop for what’s available in the UK, rather than encouraging curators and museums to seek out the best on offer, wherever that might be. As Sir Nicholas Serota pointed out in his Keynote Speech to the Conference, this has skewed funding – for instance 90% of Lottery money for acquisitions is used to secure works already in the UK, and Art Fund money is seldom used to assist with purchases from abroad. The result is acute gaps in our collections – where are the Nordic, Russian, Eastern European and American masterpieces? – and a major deficiency in the field of contemporary collecting.

Politicised decision making

While there is no direct Government intervention in what museums collect in this country, there is a growing tendency for museums and galleries to focus on UK heritage and more accessible objects, rather than on more challenging purchases, in order to guarantee a successful funding bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund. This is because the Heritage Lottery Fund has to operate within guidelines laid down by Government, which have become increasingly prescriptive.

Lack of curatorial expertise

The UK is experiencing an increasing loss of curatorial expertise, especially outside the main centres. Not enough has been done to motivate and reward curators, train the ‘eye’, and encourage individual curators to get out and about in the marketplace. There is a danger that without this investment in skill and enterprise our curators will lack the necessary skills, ambition and confidence to seek out works of art at an international level.

The National Art Collections Fund has decided, where appropriate, to adopt a more active approach to encouraging and funding acquisitions. While the charity’s core role is to respond to applications for grants from museums and galleries, it will be taking some measures which include the following:

• Offer ‘seed money’ towards works of national or international importance – e.g. pledge a potential grant before a museum has embarked on a fundraising campaign
• Take advantage of opportunities to purchase and present works of outstanding quality and historical importance by identifying suitable objects and an appropriate destination for them, and then approaching the museum concerned to see if it wishes to submit an application
• Make more large grants to encourage major purchases by smaller museums