Never Forget We Have A Choice...

I'm back on the subject of save the Titians so that the Duke of Sutherland will be better off by around £100 million and naturally the cultural health of the nation will also be saved - just as long as these pictures remain in Scotland. I watched Songs of Praise this evening and there was a piece on the programme about a project in Glasgow called Galgael.  This is what the Songs of Praise web site says about them.

Colin MacLeod led the protest movement against the construction of the M77 motorway in Glasgow. It was a battle he lost, but having discovered the potency of community he founded Galgael (The Foreign Gael), and organisation dedicated to making those who are or feel outside become restored and affirmed. He believed in the spiritual value of developing skills in working with natural materials, and in Galgael's workshop old bits of wood are turned into beautiful artifacts. Recycling things, and recycling people who have been rejected. Galgael specialises in building, reconstructing and restoring boats, believing that launching out in something you have helped build, setting off on a journey, and arriving at a destination, are vivid life and faith metaphors. After Colin died two years ago, his vision was sustained by a team led by his widow Gehan.

Now some might say that we should support that as well as buying the Titians. Well life is about choices and if I had to choose I'd put a million pounds into a hundred Galgaels before I'd buy a single Titian. Watching the guy on the programme talking about how it had saved him from addiction issues was a thousand times more moving than the Director of the National Gallery of Scotland telling us how important the Titians are to our cultural well-being. Of course the whole thing is some sophisticated form of artistic blackmail. Because once the paintings are bought for £100 million the remainder of the Bridgewater Collection - of which the Titians are part - will remain on long-term loan at the National Gallery of Scotland, where they have been on display since 1945

Just so as you know The Duke of Sutherland is a serial seller of old masters to the nation, which are paid for, in part, by us. In 2003 he was paid £11.6m for another Titian through funding raised by the galleries, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Scottish Executive and the National Art Collections Fund.

Art For Art's Sake, Money For The Poor's Sake

Is it just me or was there a dichotomy in the BBC News this morning. Apparently if you live in the east end of Glasgow there’s a good chance that your life expectancy will be twenty eight years less than in more affluent parts of Britain. Here the average male life expectancy of 54 years. According to a local GP. "In Abercromby Street, where my practice is, the average male life expectancy is about 53 years old. There is a high incidence of mental illness like depression, which leads to a number of organic problems. One of the postal sectors here has the lowest income in the UK. That means people have less money to spend on basics like food, clothes and travel to work. It's not surprising that we see more cases of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, asthma and bronchitis than areas like Lenzie." According to the GP the reasons behind the deep-rooted health problems in Calton were numerous and complex but poverty played a major part.

Meanwhile in the same news bulletin, and far higher up the BBC’s news agenda, it was announced that there is a deadline of 31 December to complete the sale of some paintings by Titian that have been on loan to the nation by the Duke of Sutherland since 1945. According to the artist Lucian Freud these are "simply the most beautiful pictures in the world". They are being offered by the Sutherlands at a price far below their market value, estimated to be in excess of £300m The fundraising resources of the National Gallery in London and the National Galleries of Scotland will be tested to “breaking point” because their combined annual budget for new acquisitions is about £4.m, meaning they must seek the bulk of the required cash elsewhere.

according to news reports it is likely the Treasury will be approached for a special grant, along with applications to private donors, lottery funds and the Scottish government. But the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said already it recognised the "national importance" of the paintings but added: "There simply isn't a pot of gold that can be magically drawn upon."

Now to my mind if a penny of public money is spent on these paintings it is a travesty – and somehow don’t you just know it will? I fully subscribe to the notion that art and culture are vital to the well being of a country but does it override the need to spend money to save lives? What if it were some despotic African country that had tremendous health problems and the leaders of that country were spending money on Mercedes limos rather than on health care, would we not be outraged? Can anybody tell me the difference? It’s not just a case of - well it comes from a different budget. In any business if one part of the business is failing then budget is likely to be switched from an area that needs it less.

According to the 7th Duke of Sutherland the time had come to finally reap the reward of his ancestor's aesthetic and financial acumen by offering the two Titian paintings to the nation for a combined total of £100m. Well it’s got bugger all to do with his efforts that he is potentially in line for £100 m. If the Scottish Government spends a penny on these pictures then they are failing in their duty of care to the people. If the government in London thinks it is such a good idea then let them spend the money and the paintings can head south for display. We should put the money where it matters and hope Gordon Brown is true to his word. “We will be judged on how we deliver the resources to prove that making poverty history was not a passing fashion.”

The New York Times Mystery Photograph

A few weeks back I was contacted by the New York Times about a post of mine from last year that featured a photograph by Bill Wyman of Marc & Vava Chagall. They needed some help over a mystery photograph. Read the full story HERE - it's fascinating. It also demonstrates just how brilliant the web can be.

Frank Sinatra Self Portrait

Over at the always entertaining Bryan Appleyard he's posted about Frank Sinatra the painter. Here's a little example of the singer's work. It's a label from Cab Frank, a limited-edition wine that features a self-portrait by Sinatra which depicts him as a clown.

North Berwick

This poster from the 1930s is expected to fetch up to £9,000 at a Christie's auction in London next month.

Things You Possibly Didn't Know No.14

In the late 1950s Andy Warhol did some drawings that appeared on covers for the iconic jazz label Blue Note. This one for Kenny Burrell was in 1958.

Why Can't We Get It Right?

Yesterday we went over to Mellerstain House near Gordon for an art exhibition. We'd been invited by Andrea Geile who makes very interesting piece for the garden using rusty metal. She had a few pieces in the garden but the bulk of the exhibition was paintings and some ceramics. We enjoyed looking at both the art, and the people, and especially enjoyed the garden which is lovely.

When we'd finished we decided to try the 'tea room' for a light lunch. Inside they proudly displayed an award from Scottish Borders Council saying they were highly commended in the 'Tastes of the Borders 2007' competition. We were encouraged! When our jacket potatoes arrived they were dire and summed up everything about why we struggle with tourism locally. I had coleslaw and bacon, which turned out to be shop bought coleslaw of the cheapest kind with a slice of bacon laid across the top. Mrs. H. had cheese and a spring onion chopped up on top of it; there was very little of it and it was the cheapest 'orange' cheddar. Both were accompanied by a 'salad garnish'. A few bits of yellow lettuce and a quarter if a tomato. We sat outside in a courtyard area that was tatty, inside it was dark and smelled of frying.

It's a shame that one of the most lovely houses and settings in the Borders is let down in this way. We both resolved never to go back there again for something to eat.

p.s. The tea was stewed!

The Philosophy of Completion

A friend of mine was close to Marc Chagall for the last ten years of his life. One day he found himself in Chagall's atelier - the artist was very protective of his private work place. My friend was amazed to see many paintings all around the walls in various stages of completion. Some seemed to him to be finished.
"Marc, how do you know when a painting is finished?"
"Well I take it and place it amongst the flowers in my garden and if it looks right it is finished."

Marc & Vava Chagall