The Bowes Museum 'saviour' to speak at Art Fund lunch

THE chairman of the Art Fund Chris Smith will visit Teesdale for a special celebration later this month.
Mr Smith, now Lord Smith of Finsbury, will be in Barnard Castle on March 17 for a lunch to mark 80 years of Art Fund support for The Bowes Museum.
Organisers say that in the museum’s 125th year it is highly appropriate Lord Smith, who did so much to help secure the museum’s future while Secretary of State for Culture from 1997 to 2001, should be leading the celebration.
Tony Seward, of the Durham and Cleveland Art Fund committee, said: “He will share his vision for the future of museums, a topic of urgent interest to all who are concerned about the state of our cultural institutions at a time of unprecedented cuts in national and local funding.”
From 1999 to 2000, the Bowes Museum was in financial crisis as it prepared to move from local authority control to charitable status.
It faced potential closure over the winter until, with the vigorous support of Lord Smith, it secured enough funding from the Museums and Galleries Commission (MGC) to host an important exhibition of paintings from the Royal Collection.
Elizabeth Conran, the museum’s director at the time, recalled that the exhibition was a resounding success and significantly raised the museum’s profile at national level.
A further key development was the publication of the Foster Report, funded by the MGC, which affirmed the importance of The Bowes Museum and its collections, leading to increased funding for its activities.
The Art Fund’s steady support for the museum goes back as far as 1937, when it granted the full asking price of £105 to enable the acquisition of A Moorland Road by Sir Charles John Holmes.
Most recently it has supported the acquisition of St Luke Drawing the Virgin and Child by Dieric Bouts with a grant of £260,000.
Under Lord Smith’s chairmanship, the trustees of the Art Fund have continued its policy of strongly backing the museum, both through acquisitions and through its New Collecting Awards, designed to help in the career development of promising young curators.
Lesley Taylor, chairman of Durham and Cleveland Art Fund Committee, added: “This is a tremendous opportunity to listen to Lord Smith’s thoughts about the future of museums throughout the UK and in particular with specific reference to The Bowes Museum.
“We are delighted that he is making the time to join us for this particular anniversary.”
His talk will be preceded by coffee at 11.15am and followed by a two-course lunch, including wine, in the Jubilee Room.
Tickets cost £40 and non-Art Fund members are welcome. For further information and to book, contact Lesley Taylor, 01833 650789 or email: lesleytaylor9@btinternet.com