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Case study
Opie’s Cornish Masterpiece
Applicant: Falmouth Town Council
Location: Falmouth, Cornwall
Grant awarded: £44,300
Grant programme: Your Heritage
Heritage area: Museums, libraries, archives
Background to the project
The gallery was awarded a grant of £44,300 to acquire the 18th Century painting “The Cornish Beggar” by John Opie of the Royal Academy. John Opie is one of Cornwall’s leading artists whose work has been likened to Velasquez and Caravaggio. The work was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1782 and is considered Opie’s finest work. The purchase of this painting through the Heritage Lottery Fund grant (including partnership funding from the V&A Purchase Fund and National Art Collections Fund) halted its export to America and repatriated the painting from Dunrobin Castle back to Cornwall.
What did the project involve?
Acquisition of Opie’s “The Cornish Beggar”.
Employment of an Assistant Education Officer
The production of the “Samantha Seagull” activity storybook
Training of volunteers to deliver talks and lectures
Wide ranging and innovative activity programme for diverse and hard to reach groups
How did the project meet our criteria?
Conservation
The project acquired John Opie’s “The Cornish Beggar”. The acquisition halted the painting’s export to a private collector in America and sent the painting home to Cornwall. Opie is one of Cornwall’s leading artists, hence its exhibition at the Royal Academy. The painting is considered to be Opie’s finest and this view has been verified by four separate experts. The painting has been held in the Earl of Sutherland’s collection at Dunrobin Castle since its purchase from Opie. The painting was never moved so is in pristine condition and is mounted in a decorative wooden carved frame, of considerable value. Falmouth Art Gallery has a Collections Management Policy, which follows the correct procedures for storage, security and environmental conditions. The Collections Management Policy conforms to sector standards.
Participation
The project included a wide-ranging participative programme of events for all to participate in. The acquisition was supported by year of activities to help people to understand the painting and the artistic heritage of Cornwall. Volunteers were recruited and trained to deliver talks and lectures on the painting, which were delivered on a regular basis. The gallery involved groups such as the Brownies, Age Concern, Women’s Refuge, RNLI, and New Deal placements, to name but a few. The gallery carried out activities such as baby painting sessions, print making and mask making amongst others.
Education
The Gallery has an active Learning Policy which encompasses innovative learning for all. The Samantha Seagull book is an interactive work book / story book interpreting Falmouth Art Gallery’s collection. The book contains many works within the gallery’s collection and activities for people to explore there own ideas about art, form, colour, and ways to create their own works. The launch of the Samantha seagull book was accompanied by major exhibition of “The Cornish Beggar”. Workshops and sessions were held for local schools and community groups as part of the project. The training of volunteers formed an important education initiative of the project.
Access
The project enabled access to Cornish artistic heritage that was previously unable to be seen in the region. A key area in meeting the HLF criteria for funding, was how the gallery and acquisition was opened up for the entire community. The Gallery worked with very diverse and hard to reach groups and it was clear that the gallery worked hard to develop new audiences.
Useful tips
"In writing our bid, we found it helpful to work in pairs with a colleague or volunteer. After reading the HLF guidelines, one of us wrote a draft application while at the same time the other checked that the text that was being written corresponded to the HLF guidelines, was relevant and fulfilled the HLF criteria. We also built some flexibility into the bid to allow for new ideas to develop as the project progressed. This is very different from being vague, because it was planned flexibility. The HLF staff were extremely helpful and friendly and we felt it was useful informally discussing the bid in detail with them right at the outset. It saved much time in the long run."– Brian Stewart, Director Falmouth Art Gallery.
Commentary
“This project demonstrated how an acquisition of a painting can be used in a truly diverse and dynamic way for the whole community. The Gallery has involved hard to reach groups and non traditional art audiences, which is inspiring. What is fantastic is the way the painting has been saved for the whole community and how it is being used to inspire and bring the community together” – Kelly Spry-Phare, Development Officer
The Samantha Seagull book won the Achievement in Excellence award for innovation and inspiring ideas in museums and galleries, May 2004
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Saving and Preservation of Opie’s Cornish Masterpiece
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“The Heritage Lottery Fund helped fund an exciting educational programme using the recent saving of John Opie's finest masterpiece as a catalyst for understanding Cornwall's rich artistic heritage. With the Lottery's help we have worked with a wide range of groups from Baby Paint to Age Concern, and from MENCAP to the Falmouth Stroke Club. It is wonderful that the Lottery is able to touch people's lives in so many positive ways”.
Brian Stewart, Director of Falmouth Art Gallery |
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