Less than four per cent of council-owned artworks in Scarborough are on display to the public

Out of more than 1,500 artworks owned by the Scarborough Museums, Culture and Creative Trust, fewer than four per cent, or 53 artworks, are on display to the public, while another 13 can be viewed “by appointment” at the Woodend Gallery.

The art collection held by the Museums Trust includes 229 oil paintings and 1,338 works on paper.

A Freedom of Information (FoI) request submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, reveals that in 2015 the value of the works held by the Museums Trust was valued at more than £3.6m.

However, the valuation only includes artworks valued above £5,000 of which there are currently 25.

The Museums Trust has said it is “currently working with a local valuer to re-value the high-value artworks”.

North Yorkshire Council owns the facilities run by the Museums Trust, including Scarborough Art Gallery, the Rotunda Museum, and the Woodend Gallery and Studios.

The highest number of artworks on display to the public is at the Art Gallery with 40 items on display, while there are eight at the Woodend, with another 13 available to view “by appointment”, and just five at the Rotunda.

The FoI request revealed that in addition to works on display to the public, there are also 42 artworks on display at Scarborough Town Hall, a majority of which are “civic portraits or paintings with a civic history”.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for culture, Cllr Simon Myers, said: “The Scarborough Collection includes artwork from the 16th century to the present day.

“We are lucky enough to own some fabulous examples of British and European fine art and, in time, our ambition is to display more of this work in our venues – Scarborough Art Gallery, Rotunda Museum, and Woodend.”

Cllr Myers added: “Usually, museums are only able to display a fraction of their collections, primarily due to lack of display space but other factors such as conservation, the condition of a painting, and relevance can also affect this.

“Scarborough Museums and Galleries is no exception, but fortunately, alternative solutions do exist, and the Scarborough picture collection is fully accessible now on the Art UK website, where all UK collections in public ownership can be searched for online.”

The council has said that it is seeking to increase the number of works on display and has “ambitious plans to redevelop Scarborough Art Gallery” which could include new and extended gallery space for the permanent collection.

The FoI request was submitted to Scarborough Council in January but the data was provided by North Yorkshire Council in May, as the succeeding authority.