William Lamb Studio Friends told to ‘step up to the plate’.

Friends group is in dispute with culture trust over building and other issues

The row over the opening of the William Lamb Studio is rumbling on as hopes fade that the collection will be open to the public this summer.

The studio was a bequest to the people of Montrose and the ownership has since passed to Angus Council.

However, funding for a seasonal guide at the studio has been withdrawn.

The Friends of the William Lamb group has volunteered to open the studio but requires training and says it is not responsible for the fabric of the building or the collection.

Culture and leisure trust Angusalive says it has offered a number of training dates but the friends say the training was “conditional”.

Montrose and District SNP Councillor Bill Duff said: “I don’t think the studio is suitable as a tourist attraction as it is too cramped and there is no parking. “The fact is that Lamb is not Salvador Dali, Walter Scott or Robert Burns and we can no longer run a bespoke quirky studio for one artist.

“The Friends of William Lamb need to step up to the plate.

“It is regrettable they have missed a season and I hope that they can open next year but the ball is in their court and they seem to have left their racquet in the clubhouse.”

One expert, Professor John Morrison of Aberdeen University, said: “There seems to be a lack of understanding of the importance of the studio, the collection and of William Lamb himself, who was a major player.

“We have seen how Dundee is investing in the V&A to drive substantial investment in other economic areas.

“We should not view museums and art galleries as some kind of drain on the public purse, but as an economic contributor. This is not the first time we have seen this in Angus.

“It wasn’t so long ago there was a suggestion that two paintings by Brueghel on display in Arbroath should be sold off – a terribly short-sighted idea and breathtakingly ill-informed.

“Dundee and Aberdeen are playing to their strengths and for Montrose, Lamb is one of those strengths, but it takes expertise and that expertise is available.”

I hope that they can open next year but the ball is in their court and they seem to have left their racquet in the clubhouse. COUNCILLOR BILL DUFF