Lord Byron in Albanian dress by Thomas Phillips, 1813, one of the works of art held by the Government Art Collection, has been displayed in Venizelos Mansion in Athens, the residence of the British Ambassador to Greece, for several decades
The Government Art Collection (GAC) is the collection of artworks owned by the UK government and administered by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The GAC's artworks are used to decorate major government buildings in the UK and around the world, and to promote British art, culture and history. The GAC now holds over 14,000 works of art in a variety of media, including around 2,500 oil paintings, but also sculpture, prints, drawings, photographs, textiles and video works, mainly created by British artists or artist with a strong connection to the UK, from the sixteenth century to the present day. Works are displayed in several hundred locations, including Downing Street, ministerial offices and reception areas in Whitehall, regional government offices in the UK, and diplomatic posts outside the UK.
The GAC dates its establishment to 5 December 1899, when the 2nd Viscount Esher, Permanent Secretary to the Office of Works, wrote to Sir Francis Mowatt, Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, proposing to spend £150 to acquire five painting for the Foreign Office, arguing that the expenditure would save a greater amount of money that would otherwise be spent on decorations. Up to the late 19th century, government ministers and ambassadors could decorate their rooms with their own personal art collections, but the GAC became more important as the social background of people holding government posts changed into the 20th century meant that could no longer be expected.
In 1935, an annual "picture fund" of £250 was authorised by HM Treasury to buy artworks to decorate diplomatic posts outside the UK, with advice from an "Overseas Picture Committee" including the directors of the major public London collections at the National Gallery, London, the Tate Gallery, and the National Portrait Gallery. Initially, most of the works it acquired were historical portraits, such as a portraits of Charles II by Thomas Hawker, and of James II by Godfrey Kneller.[1] As well as buying works, the GAC has also received many significant donations, some direct from the artist.
The first curator of the collection, Richard Perry Bedford, was appointed in 1946; he was succeeded in 1949 by Richard Walker, who served until 1976, and expanded the collection from several hundred to over 8,000 works. The GAC expanded its remit to include more modern works: its first work by a living artist was Ripe Corn by John Nash, acquired in the 1940s; and John Piper was commissioned to create new works for the British embassy in Rio de Janeiro in 1949.[2] By the 1970s, the GAC's modern artworks outnumbered the historical works.[3]
Dr Wendy Baron served as the director of the GAC from 1978 to 1997, and then Penny Johnson.[4][5] The collection was named the "Government Art Collection" in 1981.[6]
Other government bodies hold their own collections, distinct from the GAC. For example, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had a separate art collection, which was dispersed to other public galleries and collections, including some to the GAC, in 2017.[7]
Around two-thirds of the collection is on display in government buildings, with some items loaned for exhibitions, and the remainder at its premises in central London for conservation or awaiting re-display. Until 2020, the main premises were in Queen's Yard off Tottenham Court Road, but there were plans to move to new premises in Whitehall in 2020.[6] Wherever possible, the GAC lends works of art to exhibitions in public museums and galleries throughout the UK and abroad. The GAC also collaborates with other departments, such as the Home Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in commissioning new works of art. The GAC has two casts of a bust of Winston Churchill, by Jacob Epstein, one of which has been loaned to the White House twice.
At the Home Office building in central London, the GAC commissioned a programme of public art by seven contemporary artists, and new commissions for its interior spaces. In 2005, new works of art were commissioned for the Deputy High Commissioner's offices in Chennai (formerly Madras); and for the European Commission Office at Brussels. Commissions were completed in the DCMS between 2006 and 2007 and at the Ministry of Justice (previously Department for Constitutional Affairs) in 2009 and in London.
Works of art continue to be added to the collection. In 2008, the GAC received £551,000 each year from the government, a sum that includes an acquisition budget of £220,000.[9]
Advisory Committee
Purchases and commissions are made with the support and agreement of the Advisory Committee on the Government Art Collection, whose members are appointed by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The Advisory Committee is currently chaired by Sir David Verey and comprises five ex officio members (the Directors of the National, National Portrait and Tate Galleries, as well as the Director of the GAC and a senior civil servant from the DCMS), together with several additional independent members.[9]
Examples of works from the GAC
Portrait of Elizabeth I, c.1585-1595, in the British Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Sir James Thornhill was an English painter of historical subjects working in the Italian baroque tradition. He was responsible for some large-scale schemes of murals, including the "Painted Hall" at the Royal Hospital, Greenwich, the paintings on the inside of the dome of St Paul's Cathedral, and works at Chatsworth House and Wimpole Hall.
Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet was a German-British painter. The leading portraitist in England during the late Stuart and early Georgian eras, he served as court painter to successive English and British monarchs, including Charles II of England and George I of Great Britain. Kneller also painted scientists such as Isaac Newton, foreign monarchs such as Louis XIV of France and visitors to England such as Michael Shen Fu-Tsung. A pioneer of the kit-cat portrait, he was also commissioned by William III of England to paint eight "Hampton Court Beauties" to match a similar series of paintings of Charles II's "Windsor Beauties" that had been painted by Kneller's predecessor as court painter, Peter Lely.
George Vertue was an English engraver and antiquary, whose notebooks on British art of the first half of the 18th century are a valuable source for the period.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is a department of His Majesty's Government, with responsibility for culture and sport in England, and some aspects of the media throughout the UK, such as broadcasting.
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The Art of the United Kingdom refers to all forms of visual art in or associated with the United Kingdom since the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 and encompasses English art, Scottish art, Welsh art and Irish art, and forms part of Western art history. During the 18th century, Britain began to reclaim the leading place England had previously played in European art during the Middle Ages, being especially strong in portraiture and landscape art.
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John Vanderbank was an English painter who enjoyed a high reputation during the last decade of King George I's reign and remained in high fashion in the first decade of King George II's reign. George Vertue's opinion was that only intemperance and extravagance prevented Vanderbank from being the greatest portraitist of his generation, his lifestyle bringing him into repeated financial difficulties and leading to an early death at the age of only 45.
Enoch Seeman the Younger was an English painter who was active during the first half of the Georgian era. He was born into a family of painters in Danzig.
John Michael Wright was an English painter, mainly of portraits in the Baroque style. Born and raised in London, Wright trained in Edinburgh under the Scots painter George Jamesone, and sometimes described himself as Scottish in documents. He acquired a considerable reputation as an artist and scholar during a long sojourn in Rome. There he was admitted to the Accademia di San Luca and was associated with some of the leading artists of his generation. He was engaged by Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, the governor of the Spanish Netherlands, to acquire artworks in Oliver Cromwell's England in 1655.
Thomas Oldham Barlow was an English mezzotint engraver. His prints helped to popularise the works of painters like John Phillip and Sir John Everett Millais.
John Wick was a Dutch baroque painter, best known for his works on military subjects. There are still over 150 of his works known to be in existence.
Peter Tillemans was a Flemish painter, best known for his works on sporting and topographical subjects. Alongside John Wootton and James Seymour, Tillemans was one of the founders of the English school of sporting painting.
John Riley, or Ryley, was an English portrait painter. He painted portraits of Charles II and James II, and was court painter to William III and Mary II. One of his pupils was Jonathan Richardson.
British official war artists were a select group of artists who were employed on contract, or commissioned to produce specific works during the First World War, the Second World War and select military actions in the post-war period. Official war artists have been appointed by governments for information or propaganda purposes and to record events on the battlefield; but there are many other types of war artist.
Benedetto Gennari II was an Italian painter active during the Baroque period.
Thomas Gibson was an English portrait painter and copyist, notable as the teacher of George Vertue. He was born and died in London.
Hamlet Winstanley (1698–1756) was an English painter, engraver and art agent. As a painter, he was mainly active as a portraitist and copyist.
The Parliamentary Art Collection is a collection of around 8,500 artworks held by the United Kingdom Parliament. The works are jointly owned by the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Approximately 80% of the collection is displayed at the Palace of Westminster and associated buildings of the Parliamentary Estate nearby, but not government buildings in Whitehall, or Downing Street.
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