£43m of art hidden from view
Art treasures worth more than £43 million are owned by councils in the West Midlands, the Express & Star can reveal.Art treasures worth more than £43 million are owned by councils in the West Midlands, the Express & Star can reveal. Millions of pounds worth of artwork is hidden from view gathering dust in store rooms at councils throughout the region. Figures, obtained using the Freedom of Information Act, show that Wolverhampton, Sandwell, Dudley, Walsall and Staffordshire councils collectively own at least £43,456,299 worth of art work. EXCLUSIVE by Cathy Spencer - read the full report in the Express & Star
Millions of pounds worth of artwork is hidden from view gathering dust in store rooms at councils throughout the region.
Figures, obtained using the Freedom of Information Act, show that Wolverhampton, Sandwell, Dudley, Walsall and Staffordshire councils collectively own at least £43,456,299 worth of art work.
Wolverhampton City Council has revealed that its arts and museum collection, which includes pop art by Andy Warhol and work by Thomas Gainsborough, is valued at £13 million.
Dudley Council's art collection is worth £8.8 million. This includes nearly two thousand works including 250 oil paintings, 750 drawings and watercolours, 450 old engravings and 350 modern original prints.
There are also several outstanding pictures including a view of Dudley Castle by JMW Turner and work by David Cox, Frank Brangwyn and Percy Shakespeare.
Walsall Council's Garman Ryan Collection and art work at Walsall Central and Leather Museums are valued at £13,250,847.
Sandwell Council's fine art is valued at £653,000, the furniture and historic objects at its three houses total £489,445, its Ruskin pottery is valued at £232,742 while its civic silver is £30,265.
Staffordshire County Council said its art collection is valued at £7 million. Spokesman Richard Caddy said the council is unable to sell several items because they are held in trust.
"It is very important not to confuse commercial value with insurance value," he said.
"For instance, the cost of restoring tens of thousands of historically priceless documents, which suffered smoke or flood damage would bear no relation to their value on the commercial market which may be very little, if anything."
All of the art work is insured, which costs tax-payers thousands of pounds every year. But council bosses were quick to defend their hoarding of the gems.
Head of arts and museums for Wolverhampton Council Corinne Miller said they had been "courageous" in their acquisitions over the years.
She said: "As a result, people in this area can see important pieces of art work without travelling to London."
A large collection of pottery is kept at Bilston Craft Gallery and there are also valuable paintings at Bantock House.
But Roger Dodsworth, keeper of glass at Broadfield House Museum in Kingswinford, said only around a quarter of the items owned there are on display at any one time.
