Royal Visitor at Weston

By Gareth Williams, Curator to the Weston Park Foundation

Everyone who visits the Granary Art Gallery is enthralled by the space, which is dominated by the magnificent open timbers of the original eighteenth century roof.  Whilst that is a constant feature of the space, the items that we show change by the month!

When we first conceieved the Gallery, one of our intentions was to show art loaned from private collections, which are conditionally exempt for tax.  Conditional Exemption is a means offered by the taxman which does as it says on the tin - basically HMRC grant tax exempt status to items which would have otherwise been included in the calculations for inheritance tax.

Condition Exempt status is granted in return for certain conditions; the general public, who would have benefited from the payment of tax therefore get to appreciate the work of art.  Owners have the responsibility to display these items and let the public know about it and many owners are not geared up for this kind of thing. Whilst it may be assumed that these works hang in vast stately homes, the reality is that many pieces are to be found in more modest loactions and therein lies the challenge!

At Weston Park giving access is less of a challenge and very straightforward as we have the infrastructure such as loos, refreshments, plenty of parking and are therefore geared up for this type of thing. I am working with major auction houses and fine art advisers and we are utlising the Granary Art Gallery to this effect, it is open to the public all year round, free to enter and has the environmental conditions suitable to displaying these works.

Our first items include a wonderful portrait of Queen Elizabeth I and a group of charming family miniatures on loan from a private collection. If you haven't seen them yet then make a bee-line for the art gallery! This is just the beginning and we have many more exciting items in the pipeline.

Although we have the facilities to show these treasures, as an independant charitable trust we have to be ever conscious of the costs we incur and are therefore indebted to Ecclesiastical for the risk management they have put in place for this exhibition through the brokers Lycetts.