Frankly My Dear

Here's the latest scare story about the terrible fate that awaits Scotland if we dare to vote 'Yes' in the forthcoming independence referendum - a couple of nude paintings might be spirited away south of the border.

According to this piece in the Times, what remains of the UK would also claim ownership of the two Titian masterpieces as they have done over the pound. 

Frankly my dear, I don't a damn - so long as Scotland gets its rightful share of what the paintings area worth.   

Scots could lose masterpieces if they vote for independence

Nicholas Penny wants a ‘conversation’about where Diana and Callisto should be displayed if the Scots vote yes

By Billy Kenber

The head of the National Gallery in London has suggested that artwork on display in Scotland might have to be returned to England if Scots vote for independence.

Nicholas Penny singled out two jointly owned Titian masterpieces, saying there “must be conversations” about where they are displayed in the event of a “yes” vote in this year’s referendum.

The companion works Diana and Actaeon and Diana and Callisto were purchased for a total of £95 million after campaigns by the National Gallery and the National Galleries of Scotland in 2009 and 2012. Both are currently on display in Edinburgh in a special showing designed to coincide with the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Mr Penny, who has been director of the National Gallery since 2008, said that  “in terms of pictures [the referendum] calls into question the whole business of the division”. He added: “We bought the two great Titians together so we share them. It would be very difficult to say that that was an entirely Scottish collection.”

The National Gallery in London contributed £32.5 million towards the purchase of the two paintings, while the National Gallery of Scotland paid £4.6  million towards Diana and Actaeon and solicited donations for the other work. The Scottish government provided an additional £12.5 million for Diana and Actaeon, one of six large-scale mythological paintings produced for King Philip II of Spain in the 1550s

Fiona Hyslop, the Scottish Culture Secretary, insisted that the Titian paintings would continue to be shared between the two nations in the event of independence. “Scotland currently owns a share of all UK national collections with national museums and galleries in both London and Scotland holding items from different parts of the UK and collections assembled from across the world,” she said.

“There are a number of long established arrangements for loans, exchanges and partnerships, which I would fully expect to continue with the rest of the UK post March 2016.”

In a later statement, the National Gallery in London sought to clarify its director’s remarks, saying: “The two Titians are simply jointly held property and the contractual arrangements for ownership and display would not be affected if there were a ‘yes’ vote.

“There is absolutely nothing to preclude us jointly owning property with a gallery in another sovereign state.”

Mr Penny said independence would also raise questions about private collections that are currently on display in different countries. These include the Bridgewater Collection of 28 paintings by artists including Raphael, Poussin and Rembrandt, which have formed the centrepiece of the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh since they were loaned by the Duke of Sutherland.

“There is a very interesting question about whether, if there were Scottish independence, there would be different tax regulations,” Mr Penny said. “They would be mad not to try and perpetuate the system of exemption from capital tax that has been instituted in this country which exempts you from death duty if you maintain some sort of public access to the painting.”

Mr Penny also suggested that the British Museum should share the Elgin Marbles with Greece. “I don’t think anything so simple as giving them back would be a terribly good move, but I think that the British Museum would welcome some way of sharing the Elgin Marbles, provided people didn’t become obsessed with the idea of who actually owns them,” he said.

“It’s been actively considered that some of them could be lent there, provided they didn’t become a kind of political pawn.”

A spokeswoman for the Scottish National Gallery said: “In the event of either a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote, the two Titians would still continue to be jointly owned and shared between the two institutions as they are now.

“There would be no change to the current arrangements which will allow the paintings to be seen and enjoyed by the public in London and in Scotland.”

A spokeswoman for the National  Portrait Gallery in London said that it “works very closely” with the National Galleries of Scotland, which would not change as a result of independence.