Advice on donating paintings

Discussion in 'WW2 Militaria' started by DoubleD, Apr 28, 2022.

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  1. DoubleD

    DoubleD Well-Known Member

    Not certain if this comes under the topic of militaria or if it should be shared with the RAF section of the forum.

    A friend of mine has a number of paintings which her father did during and possibly just after WW2. He served with the RAF in North Africa and some of the paintings are of aircraft and airfields there and at other locations.

    She feels she would like to donate them to a museum or maybe a branch of the RAF Association.

    She’s really looking for advice on who she might contact in the first place to discuss this.


    Many thanks,

    Dave
     
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  2. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

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  3. Charley Fortnum

    Charley Fortnum Dreaming of Red Eagles

    My advice, genuinely, is do your homework and have a lawyer run over the paperwork before donating anything to a British museum.

    There have been cases in recent years of museums selling items that were donated to their collections.
     
  4. DoubleD

    DoubleD Well-Known Member

    Thanks very much to you both for your advice, which I will pass on.

    Dave
     
  5. AB64

    AB64 Senior Member

    I think I would ask the museum what they plan doing with any donation, will they realistically display them or will they end up packed away somewhere or as mentioned above sold off (in which case better just sell them herself and make use of the money or donate it to an RAF related charity) - they probably can't commit to displaying but hopefully they will be honest enough to give an idea of their intentions. Big museums have masses of stuff in store so unless an item is real quality or has a very personal story its unlikely to dislodge items already on show - sometimes a smaller local or specialised museum is a better option and will be much more grateful.
     
  6. DoubleD

    DoubleD Well-Known Member

    Thanks AB64. It is a bit of a minefield isn’t it! You’re right of course, no museum puts everything on display and many of the items are in storage. If it’s a good museum you’d expect them to update and regularly rotate at least some of the displays though. Once items are donated I don’t suppose it takes long for the history to be lost.
     
  7. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    Seconding the cautious comments.
    I don't think museums are usually intentionally bad on this score. Firmly believe that nobody's work is easy & complexities abound, but it is worth being quite cautious with such donations.
    I know some institutions don't accept things with display/sale caveats, and many already just have too much 'stuff' already.

    If the Squadron is known, might it be worth approaching the current/descendent unit & see if they'd like them?
    My suspicion is that they could be far more likely to display/care for/appreciate them in the way a donor might hope.

    (Edit: Oh, and maybe making some decent digital copies to share online. That way her dad's work might stay accessible/useful to a far wider audience.)
     
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  8. DoubleD

    DoubleD Well-Known Member

    Again, very good advice, thank you. I tend to agree that approaching the appropriate Squadron might be a good thing to do. I’ll pass everything on to my friend and she can make up her own mind.

    Thanks everyone,
    Dave
     
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  9. ceolredmonger

    ceolredmonger Member

    As a former museum curator I'll try to clarify a few points - The UK is rare in having formal standards for most museums. These are governed by a 'Registration' process and are not law however registration gives access to funding e.g. Lottery. Any collection can be called a 'museum' without being registered. Registered Museums (RM) must:
    Be permanent
    An establishment
    Open to the public
    Have a collecting and disposals policy
    Have a role which includes collecting, preserving and interpreting material culture
    The disposals policy only includes disposal as a last resort, the collections are NOT business assets. This insists that items are offered to other RM first, the donor or clearly established successor, only then otherwise e.g. sale. This can't be done because of the cash value. A main reason is if the condition or liability is such it makes economic preservation, storage or interpretation impossible. Yes, there have been issues with politicians misunderstanding the rules and trying to sell off artworks (don't get me started!) and examples of, say, military museums 'disposing' of items not properly documented. On the whole donating to a UK museum, who wants the item/s, is the best bet for ensuring historical items are looked after and interpreted professionally and for the long term.

    Because an item stored or displayed in a museum has a cost, there has been a big move away from long term loans. Another thing a RM won't do is accept restrictive conditions on display. This is to ensure the needs of the object - preservation and interpretation can be met as part of the museum collection as a whole.

    My advice is talk to the RAF Museum or IWM. In their collections they will be looked after by professionals and they will be able to be seen in their own right and in comparison to other artists work.
     
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  10. DoubleD

    DoubleD Well-Known Member

    Thanks very much for the detailed and very clear explanation ceolredmonger which I’ll pass on to my friend.

    Dave
     
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