GOVERNMENT ART COLLECTION TO BE DISPLAYED FOR FIRST TIME
A vast collection of paintings that adorns the walls of government departments, ministers' offices and British embassies is to go on public display for the first time.
By Nick Collins
Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, by Charles Jervas
The Government Art Collection comprises some 13,500 works by artists including David Hockney, Andy Warhol and Lucian Freud, allowing politicians a wide range of choices when decorating their offices.
Margaret Thatcher chose paintings of naval commanders including Nelson and Wellington, while Cherie Blair opted for a paintings of female role models during her husband's time in Downing Street.
Gordon Brown furnished his dining room during his time as Chancellor with a series of bleak prints of feathers by Cornelia Parker, while Yorkshireman Eric Pickles has picked out Yorkshire Roads, a painting by David Hockney, who also comes from the county.
Now the public will be able to examine some of the collection, which features works from most prominent British artists over the past 400 years, for the first time in its 112 year history.
It was conceived as a means of displaying the best of British culture in official buildings, but also features a handful of works by foreign artists, such as three prints of the Queen by Andy Warhol.
The collection has never been valued, but is estimated to be worth tens of millions of pounds, Channel Four news reported.
It will be brought to the Whitechapel Gallery in London before touring to Birmingham and Belfast.
TELEGRAPH
By Nick Collins
Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, by Charles Jervas
The Government Art Collection comprises some 13,500 works by artists including David Hockney, Andy Warhol and Lucian Freud, allowing politicians a wide range of choices when decorating their offices.
Margaret Thatcher chose paintings of naval commanders including Nelson and Wellington, while Cherie Blair opted for a paintings of female role models during her husband's time in Downing Street.
Gordon Brown furnished his dining room during his time as Chancellor with a series of bleak prints of feathers by Cornelia Parker, while Yorkshireman Eric Pickles has picked out Yorkshire Roads, a painting by David Hockney, who also comes from the county.
Now the public will be able to examine some of the collection, which features works from most prominent British artists over the past 400 years, for the first time in its 112 year history.
It was conceived as a means of displaying the best of British culture in official buildings, but also features a handful of works by foreign artists, such as three prints of the Queen by Andy Warhol.
The collection has never been valued, but is estimated to be worth tens of millions of pounds, Channel Four news reported.
It will be brought to the Whitechapel Gallery in London before touring to Birmingham and Belfast.
TELEGRAPH
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