You are here: Home > Media > Press Releases > London art dealer helps local museum service

London art dealer helps local museum service

Winchester City Council's museums service has recently acquired a watercolour of Winchester Cathedral painted in the early 19th century, to be added to its collection of topographical art. Nothing unusual in that you may say, but this time Winchester Museums had a helping hand from a benevolent London art dealer with a fondness for the city.

The painting, Winchester Cathedral from St Cross Road by Captain John Durrant, portrays the cathedral as seen from today's junction of St Thomas's Passage and Southgate Street. Unlike today, however, a clear view of the cathedral was actually achievable from this point in the early 19th century, showing how undeveloped the city was at the time.

To purchase this picture Winchester Museums took advantage of the Victoria & Albert Museum Purchase Fund, successfully bidding for a grant of £675 which was nearly 50% of the purchase value. This was helped by a reduction in price by the fine art dealer Guy Peppiatt of nearly £300. Mr Peppiatt, who owns Guy Peppiattt Fine Art in St James's, London, specialises in British drawings and watercolours from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Ross Turle, Curator of Recent History, commented:
"Guy Peppiatt spent his schooldays in Winchester. He was happy to reduce the price of the picture to make it affordable for Winchester Museums, knowing it will be displayed for the enjoyment of local people. We are very grateful for his support and for the V&A grant which have combined to make this purchase possible."

Cllr Patricia Stallard, the Council's Portfolio Holder for Heritage, Culture and Sport, said:
"Our museums service is very careful to acquire only those objects and pictures which will truly enhance our understanding of the history of the town and wider district. Staff routinely look for other sources of funding to help reduce costs of all kinds, and this is another small but nevertheless significant success story."

The picture will help to illustrate the change in appearance of the city over the centuries. It will be displayed for the first time next February as part of the Mayor's Choice exhibition in the City Space in Winchester Discovery Centre.

01. Image and further information available from Ross Turle, Winchester Museums Curator of Recent History, on 01962 848 194 or email rturle@winchester.gov.uk,

02. For further information about the museums service please go to: www.winchester.gov.uk/museums

03. The V&A Museum has operated the Purchase Fund Grant since 1881, helping museums, libraries and archives to develop their collections. Since 1995 the grants budget, which now comes through the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), has been £1 million. Demand is always very strong and funds are allocated to enable as many acquisitions as possible to be made. In 2007-08, grants of almost £1 million were awarded to 100 organisations, enabling acquisitions of almost £3.5 million to go ahead.