Opera House head bought its £11m Hockney without telling board
‘There may be things that he might wish he had told them about differently’
THE outgoing chairman of the Royal Opera House did not tell the board about his private decision to buy its painting by David Hockney when it was auctioned for millions of pounds, The Sunday Telegraph can disclose.
David Ross, the co-founder of Carphone Warehouse and one of Britain’s biggest philanthropists, surprised the arts sector last week when it emerged that he was standing down nine months into his four-year term. He plans to continue for a second term as chairman of the National Portrait Gallery.
His departure, which is yet to be officially confirmed, was deemed unusual particularly because he intervened to save the Royal Opera House from ruin by buying the Hockney painting of Sir David Webster, the institution’s former boss, for £11million last October. Now, it has emerged that Mr Ross did not tell trustees he was the buyer, causing some surprise on the board, although there was no requirement for him to do so.
The sale was part of the Royal Opera House’s plan for financial recovery set at the height of the pandemic. The sale was agreed in principle last July, shortly before Mr Ross, 55, became chairman.
The painting is in storage and will be hung in time for the new season.
Asked if the Royal Opera House knew who had bought the painting when it was sold, a spokesman said: “No.” The board was told it was Mr Ross a month later. Friends of Mr Ross said he had told the Royal Opera House “within the required time” about his purchase. They said he decided to buy the painting to “save it for the nation” because he was worried it would be sold overseas.
A Royal Opera House source who is close to Mr Ross claimed that he could have been more open about his intentions. “There may be things that he might wish he had communicated differently,” they said.
Mr Ross plans to move the painting to the National Portrait Gallery when it reopens after a refurbishment in 2023. He hopes he will be asked to stay on at the gallery to ensure that works with links to the UK’s colonial past are rehung. A friend said: “David is passionate about making our arts and culture accessible to all so that we can all learn from our country’s history. Simply erasing parts of our history does nothing to help improve our future. He thinks we need to educate people about all parts of our history, good or bad.”