Art sale to fund 18th century museum restoration

A painting first exhibited in 1908 at the Royal Academy is set to be sold by a Surrey local authority, with £100,000 from the proceeds going towards restoring a museum.

Waverley Borough Council (WBC) has been working to revamp the 18th century Willmer House, home to the Museum of Farnham.

The Cornish Fisher Folk painting is a depiction of life in a turn-of-the-century fishing village by Walter Langley, who was known for his depiction of working-class families.

The painting has been on display at the Penlee House Gallery & Museum in Cornwall, with WBC only recently becoming aware of its ownership or even how it came to own the work, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Leader of the council, Paul Follows, said: "Members of the executive will be well aware of the Cornish Fisher Folk painting that we have in our possession.

"This is not a joke item, this is very much a real painting that the council possesses."

Investigations discovered the picture was sold in 1910 for £100.

After the owner passed away, it was given to a second owner who subsequently bequeathed it to Godalming Parish Council, a forerunner of WBC in 1920.

In 1974, when the borough was created, Cornish Fisher Folk was given to Waverley, with other paintings allotted to Godalming Town Council.

Mr Follows said: "We know the Penlee Gallery are interested in it because they have a local connection to the painting."

In July, the council arts officer wrote to Penlee Gallery offering it the opportunity to buy the painting at a price of no lower than £65,000.

Penlee confirmed their interest but explained it "would need to fundraise" to purchase the artwork.

The council says if the museum is unable to fundraise the cash in time, the council will auction the painting in March, with £100,000 reserved for the restoration of Farnham Museum.

The council says any amount above that would be shared between other arts organisations.

The painting is already held by Penlee Gallery on loan and can be viewed by the public.

The council says selling the painting to them "ensures the artwork's continued professional conservation, curation and long-term display and preservation for future generations".

Cllr Mark Merryweather, said: "Just to clarify, it's in our ownership, its not in our possession.

"I think it clearly has some value for those people who appreciate it, those particularly down in Penlee."

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