Art Fund statement in response to the Museum Association's Advice to Southampton City Council

  • 24 September 2009

The Art Fund, the UK's leading independent art charity, backs the Museums Association's announcement that it has yet to be satisfied that Southampton City Council's proposed sale of artworks meets the requirements of the Ethics Committee.

Andrew Macdonald, Acting Director, The Art Fund said: “The Art Fund agrees with the Museums Association that Southampton has yet to explore other avenues of funding – and that the selling of the works of art is an absolute last resort. We remain concerned that selling these works which belong to a publicly funded collection would set a dangerous precedent.”

More information on the Museum Association’s Code of Ethics and Southampton’s plans to sell works of art from its collection to fund a new cultural quarter can be found at www.museumsassociation.org

ENDS

Notes to editors:

  1. Southampton City Council has announced that it plans to sell two works of art from Southampton City Art Gallery’s collection – Alfred J. Munning’s After the Race and either Eve or Crouching Woman by August Rodin – to help fund a new museum building project.
  2. The Art Fund is the UK’s leading independent art charity. It offers grants to help UK museums and galleries enrich their collections; campaigns on behalf of museums and their visitors; and promotes the enjoyment of art. 
  3. It is entirely funded from public donations and has 80,000 members. Since 1903 the charity has helped museums and galleries all over the UK secure 860,000 works of art for their collections.
  4. Recent achievements include: helping secure Titian’s Diana and Actaeon for the National Galleries of Scotland and the National Gallery, London in February 2009 with a grant of £1 million; helping secure Anthony d’Offay’s collection, ARTIST ROOMS, for Tate and National Galleries of Scotland in February 2008 with a grant of £1million; and running the ‘Buy a Brushstroke’ public appeal which raised over £550,000 to keep Turner’s Blue Rigi watercolour in the UK.
  5. For more information contact the Press Office on 020 7225 4888 or visit www.artfund.org

The Art Fund is a Registered Charity No. 209174