Havering Council owns more art than National Gallery - FOI

In a Freedom of Information request (FOI) submitted by the TaxPayers' Alliance, it was revealed that the council owns around 18,500 pieces of art.

But only 17 of these are on public display.

By comparison, the National Gallery is home to more than 2,300 paintings and the Tate Modern currently displays around 1,200 pieces in its exhibitions.

The TaxPayers' Alliance also named Havering as one of the top 20 local authorities with the lowest proportion of their collection on display for the public, at just 0.1 per cent.

One of the pieces on public display is a mosaic outside Collier Row Library (Image: Google Maps)
 

Councillor David Taylor said he was "disappointed" that so little of the council-owned art is on display, as "art is important for a community".

He said: "I was amazed to hear that Havering Council holds such a large collection of art, and yet equally disappointed that so little of it is on display.

"Art is important for a community, as it gives us that little bit of humanity in what may otherwise be a very dull world. 

"The idea of such a collection being locked away, or hard to get to, is a real shame."

Councillor Taylor added that he would "love to see Havering make this collection more accessible", for example by working with community groups to display it.

This Tudor Rose on loan to Havering Museum is part of the council's collection (Image: Havering Local Studies and Family History Centre)

According to the FOI, the art is a combination of images, paintings, drawings and photographs, as well as two sculptures.

However, a spokesperson for Havering Council said the "vast majority" of the artworks are photographs.

Murals at Gidea Park and Upminster Libraries and a mosaic on the outside of Collier Row Library make up some of the publicly displayed works.

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The council was also keen to highlight that most of the collection is viewable online, either via the Library Links catalogue at havering.gov.uk or through the Art UK website.

A spokesperson for the council said: "Most are unsuitable for permanent display as in the case of photographs they would quickly fade if exposed to continuous light, a significant number are transparencies – glass plates and lantern slides as well as 35mm slides and among the few paintings and drawings, many are A4 or smaller."

Unlike other councils, the Havering collection has not been valued.

The Local Studies Library holds the majority of the artwork at Romford Central Library (Image: Google Maps)

Some local authorities own artworks with a value running into the millions - Manchester City Council is valued at £383 million.

Even if each piece of art was only worth £10, Havering's collection would be valued at more than £180,000.

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Elliot Keck, head of campaigns at the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "At the very least, these works should be on public display.

"If not, these wannabe curators should look to sell them to replenish depleted coffers."

Havering Council, however, called the TaxPayers' Alliance's findings "misleading".

They said: "The only painting we have that might be a little more valuable is the 1891 oil painting by Louis Burleigh Bruhl of Romford Market which can be viewed by appointment but can also be seen online at Art UK."