Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Out of the picture
Just 6% of art owned by public is on display
ONLY a tiny fraction of the artworks owned by the city of Dundee is actually on public display, the Tele has discovered.
A freedom of information request has revealed that of the 8,697 objects in Leisure and Culture Dundee’s Fine and Decorative Art Collection, only 523 can be seen by the public – 6% of the total collection.
The other 8,174 pieces of art are kept in storage under lock and key, although some can be viewed online.
The Tele made the request to local body Leisure and Culture Dundee, the arm’s-length organisation that manages sports and arts facilities on behalf of Dundee City Council.
While LACD cares for the existing art collection, it remains the property of the local authority.
The body declined to provide the Tele with a value for the total collection, although it is understood to run into millions of pounds.
Artworks that can be viewed can be found at museums such as t he McManus Gallery.
While many of the works cannot be viewed by the public until they are brought out of storage, about 960 paintings can be viewed online on the Art UK archive. Art UK is a charity which aims to make publicly owned art collections freely viewable, even when the works are locked away.
Among the works viewable online that are held in Dundee are paintings by William McTaggart, Robert Colquhoun, James McIntosh Patrick, Impressionist painter Eugene Boudin and Alexander Nasmyth — known for his portrait of Robert Burns.
Many of the paintings also feature past lord provosts of Dundee and early depictions of city life.
Think tank the TaxPayers’ Alliance has called on councils to consider reducing their art collections if works are not going to be considered for public display in the near future.
The organisation’s chief executive John O’Connell said: “Dundonians should be furious that artworks, which they have paid for, are being hoarded by the council and Leisure and Culture Dundee.
“If there are no i ntentions of putting them on display, then surplus artwork should be sold and the cash given back to Dundee council tax payers.”
Leisure and Culture Dundee had not responded at the time of going to press.