Observations on art
Fifty years ago, when that most archetypal of establishment press barons, Max Aitken, the first Lord Beaverbrook, decided to establish an art gallery in his native province of New Brunswick, he ensured it would have one of the most impressive collections in Canada by providing dozens of treasures from his private stock.
Paintings by Botticelli, Gainsborough, George Stubbs, Turner, John Singer Sargent and a young artist called Lucian Freud graced the Beaverbrook Gallery's walls when it opened in 1959; a Graham Sutherland portrait of the late Daily Express owner still greets visitors to what is now arguably the most important Canadian art gallery east of Montreal.
Now this act of patronage is at the heart of a bitter court dispute over who owns 133 paintings provided by Beaverbrook before and after the gallery opened in Fredericton. Its trustees contend the artworks were gifts, while his lordship's heirs, who make up the Beaverbrook Foundation (UK), claim they were long-term loans.
So far, the case has not gone the family's way.
This past March, after a three-year battle, the ownership of 85 works, valued at C$90m (£45m), was granted to the gallery by Peter Cory, a retired Supreme Court justice who has acted as arbitrator in the case.
Cory agreed with the Beaverbrook Foundation that 48 others were loans and thus belonged to the foundation, but only because of the "deceitful, deceptive and disruptive" actions of Lord Beaverbrook, who had changed the records of ownership after the gallery's opening.
On 5 October the gallery was awarded legal costs of more than C$4.5m. This was on top of a previous C$2.4m that the foundation had been told to pay the gallery for paintings it had removed over the years.
"This is a very big victory for us," Bernard Riordon, director and chief executive officer of the Fredericton gallery, told news agency Canadian Press. "It's a big decision. This has been an expensive, lengthy and stressful legal battle, and closure is very important to us."
The Beaverbrook Foundation is now appealing these decisions. The foundation's London-based spokesman, Charlie Methven, called the latest ruling "outrageous" and told the Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper that both the arbitration decision and the awarding of costs "will fall apart in . . . appeal".
The UK foundation's head, Maxwell Aitken III, a grandson of the press baron, admitted earlier this year that its costs in the case had already run as high as C$7m, and last month the foundation sold 93 per cent of its stock portfolio, spending one-third of the proceeds, roughly C$3m, on legal bills arising from the dispute.
Lord Beaverbrook, who was likely vying for a slice of hometown immortality by founding the gallery, was 81 when its doors opened, and died five years later. When the former MP and member of Churchill's war cabinet officially opened the Fredericton building, he said he expected to be "recalled chiefly as the builder and founder of an art gallery" and mused that "the labour of age may prove more lasting than the strident achievements of youth or the aggressive toil of middle life".
As the legal battle continues, he may well be proved right, though probably not in the way he had in mind.
Post this article to
We want to encourage people to comment on our content and to exchange views with other readers and hope this will be done on a courteous basis. However, if you encounter posts which are offensive please let us know by emailing comments@newstatesman.co.uk and we will take swift action where necessary.
