Dorset County Museum saves important portraits

Dorset County Museum is delighted to announce its success in saving three important portraits by the artist George Romney from being sold overseas. The portraits, which all have strong Dorset connections, were being offered for sale on the open market, with the Museum offered first refusal.

The Museum has been raising funds for over a year and with a generous pledge of £55,000 from The Art Fund, the UK’s leading independent art charity, had been successful in raising over £106,000.  Efforts culminated this week when the Museum heard that it had been successful in attracting a grant of £179,500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, reaching the target of £279,749 for the purchase of the paintings, conservation, display and a full programme of interpretation.

Museum Director, Judy Lindsay, said “We are absolutely delighted that the campaign to keep these fabulous portraits in Dorset has been successful.  The paintings will be displayed in Dorset County Museum for future generations to enjoy and we look forward to delivering an inspirational programme of related events and exhibitions over the coming year.”

David Barrie, Director of The Art Fund, said:  “Together with Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough, Romney’s elegant yet formal portrait style confirmed him as one of the key figures in 18th Century British art.  His full length portrait of Thomas Rackett the Younger that forms the centrepiece of this trio of paintings is of national importance and one of his finest early portraits.  I’m very pleased The Art Fund was able to contribute to the saving of these three works which significantly complement the Museum’s permanent collection.”

Mrs Pam Seaton, Chairman of the Museum Board, also said how pleased she was that the paintings would now remain in Dorset and paid tribute to the work of the Director, Judy Lindsay, in putting together this successful bid, helped by Gwen Yarker, an Art Historian who is a member of the Board.

The Museum is confident that the acquisition of these stunning portraits will really put the Museum on the map, and will provide a springboard for engaging with new audiences, from the under 5s to older people at risk of social exclusion.

With full funding for the project in place the Museum is looking forward to creating an inspirational programme of events and exhibitions to share the story of the portraits with the public. New activities will include workshops with 14 – 19 year olds, sessions for school groups, free concerts and talks and events and activities for the over 60s.

The Heritage Lottery Fund

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) enables communities to celebrate, look after and learn more about our diverse heritage.  From our great museums and historic buildings to local parks and beauty spots or recording and celebrating traditions, customs and history, HLF grants open up our nation's heritage for everyone to enjoy. We have awarded grants totalling more than £4 billion to more than 26,000 projects.

The Art Fund

The Art Fund is the UK’s leading independent art charity. It offers grants to help UK museums and galleries enrich their collections, campaigns on behalf of museums and their visitors and promotes the enjoyment of art.  It is entirely funded from public donations and has 80,000 members.  Since 1903 the charity has helped museums and galleries all over the UK secure 860,000 works of art for their collections. Recent achievements include:  Helping secure Anthony d’Offay’s collection, ARTIST ROOMS, for Tate and National Galleries of Scotland in February 2008 with a grant of £1million; putting together a unique funding package to ensure Dumfries House in Ayrshire and its contents were secured intact for the nation in July 2007; and running the ‘Buy a Brushstroke’ public appeal which raised over £550,000 to keep Turner’s Blue Rigi watercolour in the UK. For more information contact the Press Office on 020 7225 4888, or visit www.artfund.org

Who is George Romney?
George Romney is one of the key figures in 18th century British art, and was a contemporary of Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough. The significance of his portrait of Thomas Rackett the Younger, in particular, is well established: it has been acknowledged as being of national importance; it has been described by Alex Kidson (Curator of British Oil Paintings at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool) as "one of Romney's finest earliest portraits"; and it featured in a major exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, and also in America.

This portrait also has significant importance to both the Museum and to Dorset. Rackett was rector of Spetisbury for 59 years. During that time, he acquired a reputation as a keen antiquarian, naturalist and numismatist. Several items associated with his interests are held by the Museum, including an important collection of ancient Grecian coins. In many ways, Rackett was the forerunner of the great Victorian collectors who founded the Museum in 1846.

The portraits of Thomas Rackett and his parents therefore have a special importance for Dorset. They have been in the county for over 100 years, and in the possession of the vendors' family since they were painted. Their purchase by the Museum would mean their staying in Dorset, whereas their sale on the open market would almost certainly mean their leaving the county, and probably the country.

Properly conserved, and displayed in the Museum with appropriate interpretation and alongside related material, they will provide visitors with an insight into the life and work of an 18th century antiquarian, and offer an accessible way of exploring themes of collecting and history. They are an important part of Dorset's history, and should be kept where they are most relevant and can be best appreciated.