NOT ALOWRYED
Council ‘can’t sell’ £300k painting to pay off debts
CIVIC chiefs have insisted they cannot flog a prized Lowry painting, despite battling a funding crisis.
Middlesbrough council owns a £32.5million art collection but is struggling to fund services amid a shortfall.
The authority – getting financial aid from the Government to stave off bankruptcy – has set out savings of £14m, leaving a £6.3m hole in its 2023/4 budget of £126m.
But selling the collection – including 1,000 fine art pieces, 250 ceramics and 250,000 natural science specimens – would leave it open to legal challenges, according to bosses.
Director of regeneration Richard Horniman said: “It is clear ownership of the artworks is legally open to interpretation and therefore a challenge.
“The LS Lowry painting was donated by the artist to the council for the people of Middles- brough. The council technically owns it but wouldn’t be able to try and sell it without the threat of significant legal challenge. Recent examples have shown it is very easy to prevent such sales, and cause huge reputational damage in the process.”
Lowry, famed for his “matchstick men” images, painted The Old Town Hall and St Hilda’s Church in 1959.
It was bought by The Friends of Middlesbrough Art Gallery and is housed in the council’s MIMA gallery.
Lowry did three versions and the original is believed to be worth at least £300,000.
Author Frederick Forsyth bought a version from variety star Max Bygraves, selling it in 2001 for £245,750.
The Arts Council said it understood the difficulties faced by local authorities but said flogging art “would erode trust in museums and cause irreversible damage to the UK’s cultural inheritance”.
Other assets owned by the council include Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s public art The Bottle of Notes, a statue of football manager Brian Clough and Captain James Cook memorabilia. Clough was born in Middlesbrough and played for its club. Explorer Cook was born in nearby Marton-in-Cleveland.