Auction house Sotheby’s has approached several English councils offering to value their art collections, prompting fears some could resort to selling off works to plug funding gaps.
The Financial Times reports that a letter from the auction house’s Tax, Heritage and UK Museums department sent in January offered to value the top five works of local authorities “with no further obligation” — although it also included case studies of previous sales by councils.
News of the approach comes as local authorities across the country continue to face significant financial pressure. Last month, The Guardian reported that nearly 20 councils in England ‘at risk of insolvency’ due to the rising costs of supporting children with special educational needs.
Funding shortfall
The County Councils Network (CCN) has previously said that unless the government acts in the Budget and Spending Review, local authorities in England face a funding shortfall of £54bn over the next five years.
All of this has had a knock-on impact on the amount of funding local authorities allocate to arts and culture. The Local Government Association says council spending on culture and leisure services has fallen by £2.3bn in real terms since 2010/11.
Maurice Davis, a consultant at Cultural Associates Oxford, told The Financial Times that it “seems like Sotheby’s is trying to tempt [councils] into thinking about what assets they could strip”.
Councils approached by Sotheby’s include Derby City Council, which has a collection of paintings by 18th century artist Joseph Wright that were valued by the auction house for insurance purposes at £64m in 2012.
Leeds, Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole, Calderdale, West Berkshire, Erewash, Horsham, Kirklees, Lewes and Eastbourne and Norfolk County Council were also approached.
Leeds City Council confirmed to The Financial Times that it had been approached by Sotheby’s “but have not responded, nor do we intend to”.
‘Seriously concerned’
Arts Council England has previously warned against the sale of museum collections.
A joint statement issued in August alongside nine other industry organisations – including Art Fund, the Association of Independent Museums, the Museums Association and the National Lottery Heritage Fund – said sales could have damaging consequences.
“Every museum should review their collections. Disposal is part of responsible collections management, but museum collections should not be sold for financial gain,” the statement said.
“We are seriously concerned about the possibility of unethical sales from museum collections and the targeting of collections as a source of income. Such actions would erode the long-held and hard-won trust that the public have in museums and cause irreversible damage to the UK’s cultural inheritance.”
Sotheby’s has said it “was in touch with local authorities to offer a range of services including valuation, tax, heritage, and collection management”.
It added: “Several authorities have accepted valuations for insurance purposes. No sales have been discussed. No museums were approached. Sotheby’s remains a dedicated partner to UK institutions, supporting them in building their collections and providing assistance through training, loan programmes, and other initiatives.”