Public Art Published For All
The fully-illustrated Public Catalogue Foundation’s Hampshire volume is now on sale, showing the rich cultural heritage of Hampshire through the oil paintings held in its public collections.
More than 2,400 oil paintings from 46 collections in the county are shown including works from the many military museums - including ships in dry dock - and paintings held by local authority museums and civic buildings.
The Public Catalogue Foundation is a charity set up to catalogue all the oil paintings held in public collections in England. These are held not only by museums and galleries but also by other public sector areas such as government, schools, hospitals, police stations and even fire stations.
The aim of the Foundation is to improve public access to these paintings by producing a series of affordable colour catalogues on a county-by-county basis. These will later go online allowing the public free access to the works they own. The benefits to the bodies responsible for the featured collections are considerable, and include free digital images, improved records and national publicity.
Winchester City Council’s museums service curates a collection of over 1,700 works of art that includes 76 oil paintings, 40 of which are on display in the Guildhall and Abbey House. The pictures are mainly views of the city and district but the collection also holds portraits of local dignitaries and inhabitants. They range in date from the mid 16th century right up to new works of by contemporary artists.
The City Council has been provided with a small number of catalogues for sale, the proceeds of which will benefit the art collection by helping to pay for the costs of cleaning and conservation. These catalogues can be purchased at The City Museum in The Square at a cost of £20 each or by calling 01962 848 194.
For more details about the Public Catalogue Foundation and the images in the volume visit: www.thepcf.org.uk