Memorandum submitted by the Tate
INTRODUCTION
Tate is committed to collecting across an exceptionally
broad front. As directed by the terms of the 1992 Museums and
Galleries Act, Tate collects British art from 1,500, international
art from 1,900, and archival material relating to these areas.
The Committee enquiry covers a very wide range
of issues that are relevant to Tate's Collection. We have chosen
to focus on the present challenges in building the national collection,
specifically the following issues:
1. the rising costs of works of art and Tate's
funding constraints;
2. the limitations of the export review regulations;
3. the disposal of works of art from collections;
and
4. the need to invest in Museums and Galleries,
and in the Collections which lie at their heart, to ensure that
London presents a world class cultural offer for the 2012 Olympics.
1. The rising costs of works of art and Tate's
funding constraints
It is well documented that the prices of art
works have grown considerably over the last two decades. Tate's,
and other national museums', ability to operate in the art market
and to build national collections is increasingly difficult in
these conditions.
In the past there have been short moments when
Tate had real purchasing power, principally in the late 1970s.
Since 1980, however, the allocation for acquisitions has remained
at about £2 million due to the Government's reluctance to
increase purchase grants. The grant was absorbed into the general
Grant-in-Aid in 1992 but the Trustees have been unable to increase
the allocation in the face of the decline, in real terms, in the
overall Government grant relative to output.
With its four sites across the country, Tate
is maximising its reach to the visiting public, and together the
four galleries attract the largest number of visitors per year
of any art museum in the UK. Access to the Tate Collection has
recently been given further dimension through Tate's acclaimed
website.
It is therefore essential that Tate can continue
to enhance its collection—adding works of iconic significance
in the early British and the classic modern areas, strengthening
areas where we already have significant holdings and extending
the Collection into new geographical fields and new media.
If we are to succeed, we need Government assistance
through a scheme that would recognise donors' generosity by offering
a broader range of fiscal incentives. We also need to strengthen
the NHMF and HLF as sources of public funds on major items. The
Goodison report examined a number of tax incentives to encourage
donations of works of art in lieu of tax. We believe that these
options offer models which could be adopted by Government and
have evidence from potential donors that these proposals would
greatly benefit the Collection.
2. The limitations of the export review system
The Export Review system exists to protect works
of national heritage for the nation and plays an invaluable role
in assisting national museums and public bodies build their collections.
However, there are number of areas that would greatly improve
the way these regulations help collections to be developed.
Firstly, we propose that there should be increased
obligations on the owner of works of art, when applying for an
export licence, to commit to sell that work to a public institution
should the fundraising be successful. We therefore support the
proposal put forward in the Goodison Review that if a public institution
came forward during the first deferral period with serious intent
to make a matching offer, then the applicant for a licence "would
be asked to make a binding offer to sell to that institution"
should they be successful in securing funds and that "the
offer could not be withdrawn during the second stop".[41]
Secondly, we propose the "starring"
system should be more systematic and increasingly used. Works
are "starred" by the committee to indicate that "every
possible effort should be made to raise enough money to keep [the
work] in the country". However the system for starring works
does not seem consistent. For example, the case of the comparable
two Turner works—The Blue Rigi (starred) and The
Dark Rigi (not starred)—illustrates that these decisions
seem to be down to individual taste rather than a consistent message.
Similarly, this can be seen in the "starring" of Joshua
Reynolds's The Archers while William Blake's set of 19
watercolours for Blair's The Grave was not starred; in
the same year a chalk portrait drawing by Thomas Lawrence was
starred.
As an example of problems we encounter, we attach
a more detailed account of the events summarising the failure
to keep Joshua Reynolds' Omai in the country (see Annex).
3. The disposal of works of art from collections
Tate has the power, in certain circumstances,
to deaccession works, provided that the proceeds are only used
to fund purchases for the Tate Collection. Tate Trustees have
not used these powers, but believe that some relaxation of the
presumption against all disposal would allow them to make selective
exchanges of works by living or recently deceased artists in order
to upgrade the representation of that artist in the collection.
Such occasional disposals would have to be undertaken with great
care so as not to undermine public confidence. They would not
be a source of significant funds but would allow for the more
effective management of the Collection and presentation of the
artist to the public.
4. The need to invest in Museums and Galleries,
and in the Collections which lie at their heart, to ensure that
London presents a world class cultural offer for 2012
A factor in London's successful bid to host
the Olympics in 2012 was the strength of its cultural dimension.
More generally, it is important that the capital's world class
cultural offer is in good shape when the world's are focussed
on London in 2012. The capital's national museums and galleries
are world leading institutions. At the heart of this success is
the ability to present displays of their developing collections,
grounded in scholarship, interpreted for a broad and varied public.
This is a sustained endeavour, planned and executed over long
time horizons.
There is a risk, in a constrained public spending
environment, that the short term cost of the Olympics will divert
resources from the rest of the DCMS sector, including the National
Museums. It would be highly unfortunate if the sporting celebrations
in east London in the summer of 2012 were to be marred by gallery
closures and restricted museum services in the heart of the capital
over the next five years. It is vitally important that Government
sustains public investment in the national museums over the period
to 2012 and beyond.
41 Goodison, p 37 Annex 7; 7.2; p 46. Back
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