The money public bodies spend on artwork or sculpture for their buildings is often seen as a frivolous waste. Penny Johnson, director of the Government Art Collection, gives Ruth Keeling the counter argument
It would be very easy to miss the Government Art Collection (GAC), tucked as it is behind Tottenham Court Road. Almost the only signs that the building holds nearly 5,000 pieces of British art are the giant-sized doorway and lift, built to handle the huge, gold-framed portraits and pictures often found in the country’s oldest government buildings.
The collection, established in 1898, comprises around 13,500 pieces of work, but only about a third – works awaiting refurbishment or between homes – can be found in the collection’s small headquarters at any one time. GAC director Penny Johnson, clearly sensitive to accusations that the collection is a hidden treasure hoard, is quick to note that it is typical for any gallery or museum to keep 30 per cent of its items in storage. Negative stories – recent ones have focused on the amount spent on art and on missing pieces – are obviously a frustration for Johnson, especially as the collection doesn’t get much publicity generally.
Johnson’s explains that the collection exists “to promote British art, history and culture in major government buildings,” she says. “The UK has a fantastic artistic heritage; one that we are very proud of – and that is something we are able to display.” The collection is not as expensive as people imagine, she argues, with an annual budget of £551,000.
Indeed, Johnson points out that funding has remained at the same level since 2002-03. “We’re very, very careful,” she says. “We have a limited budget and we need to stretch it as far as it goes.”
A few new purchases, based on the advice of a voluntary committee of experts, are made each year, and pieces are placed for varying lengths of time in a variety of public buildings. Ministerial reshuffles and elections often create a flurry of activity as appointees make their mark on their new offices.
Besides ministerial offices, the collection’s works can be seen in venues such as Lancaster House – host to many international conferences – and departmental HQs. In most cases selections are made from the collection, but public bodies do occasionally commission new pieces.
To those who believe that art in the workplace is a waste of money, Johnson argues that it improves people’s working lives. “Imagine what some of these buildings would be like if they had no works of art,” she says. “It would be inhuman!”
Pieces from the collection can also be seen abroad in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s many embassies, residencies and consulates; Johnson is keen to point out that any GAC staff who travel to deliver or collect the artworks fly economy class.
When deciding on an artwork for a particular building, the collection’s staff try to select a piece that has a connection with its new home: the ambassador’s residency in Paris, for example, has a portrait of the Italian sculpture Antonio Canova, who once stayed in the building; the 1930s-built residencies in Washington and Berlin are furnished with art from that era.
In some locations, Johnson notes, there are constraints on which pieces can be used. “We have to take into account political sensitivities and certain language: the F-word, for example,” she says, as we chat near a photograph of Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger after his arrest for drug possession in 1967. One for the Ministry of Justice, perhaps.
For some sceptics, the subject matter is irrelevant; they object to the government spending any money on art. The fact that most of these buildings are closed to the general public adds to their irritation – and it is because of such concerns, says Johnson, that the collection has opened itself up.
The GAC was one of the first collections to put its catalogue on the web, and is soon to launch a more interactive version. It also runs thrice-monthly guided tours, and the collection takes part in the Open House weekend each September. Demand has been so high in recent years that the GAC has opened its doors on an additional couple of weekends, Johnson adds.
“We try to lend to public exhibitions when we are asked,” Johnson says. “We’re conscious of the fact that we’re not open to the general public, and we’re very keen for people to see the works of art from the collection.”
And for those members of the public that don’t make it to the open days or art exhibitions? It is still possible for them to catch a glimpse of the artwork that the government has amassed over the last hundred years or so, by simply watching the television news. “Although you are not seeing our works of art in the flesh, watch the news and, behind a minister or the prime minister, there will often be one of our works of art,” says Johnson with satisfaction.