Paintings belong to people of Arbroath

Sir, - Angus Councillor Ben Lawrie has come up with an ingenious idea for Angus Council to raise funds by selling off paintings.

I can hope he took the precaution of checking whether Angus Council owns the pictures he thinks should be sold.

There could well be the possibility that they could be owned by Arbroath Common Good Fund.

I think before embarking on this idea this should be thoroughly explored. Even if Angus Council does have some vague right to the contents of the library there is still the moral duty to protect the heritage of burghs.

To describe items gifted to Arbroath as “absolute gems of Angus Council’s collection” is insulting in the extreme.

They were gifted to Arbroath for future generations to enjoy – not to flog when the council budget needs a boost.

The same issue of The Courier carried a feature on a painting at Hospitalfield House which states it is a possible old masterpiece.

The article states that Hospitalfield House cannot say where it came from. If the provenance is unclear, may I make a suggestion? A few years ago there was considerable interest in the whereabouts of a painting of the Queen Mother when she was Duchess of York

From my recollection the painting was part of Arbroath Town Council collection but it was apparently lost.

It was stated at that time that many pictures were removed from view and stored at Hospitalfield during the Second World War.

I do not remember the outcome of this inquiry but it was said that records were very good for that time.

It may be that checks on the provenance of the Hospitalfield painting could be interesting. Maureen Robertson. 84 Cairnie Loan, Arbroath.

Councillor Ben Lawrie beside one of the paintings by Pieter Brueghel the Younger.