The National Galleries Scotland is facing an acquisition budget cut of 80 per cent, as the Scottish government reduces spending across the board.

The National Galleries has previously held on to an acquisition budget of around £1m a year, but after the government reduced its funding for capital expenditure at the institution to £1.2m over three years, trustees have decided to restrict the artwork acquisition budget to £200,000 a year.

The NGS along with the National Gallery has recently dipped into its reserves in order to purchase the second of two Titian paintings offered at the combined reduced price of £95m.

Arts institutions across the country have faced massive cuts as a result of government spending reductions, and in particular acquisitions programmes have suffered. Arts Fund is working to address this in its attempt to boost its own acquisition fund, which it distributes to arts organisations, to £7m by 2014.

In commenting on the cut, however, NGS director general John Leighton took the 80 per cent funding reduction in his stride.

“We will make it go as far as we can. We do become ever more creative in relation to private collectors, looking for gifts, loans, bequests, something we have always done and done skilfully,” he said.  

“It is hard making a fuss about it when you see how capital spending has had to be reduced in Scotland right across the public sector.”

New Scottish strategy for museums and galleries

The news follows the Scottish government’s announcement of a ten-year strategy for the country’s museums and galleries, which emphasises sustainable growth for the sector and was backed by a £3.3m fund.

Launching the strategy and fund late last month, Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said it was a reaffirmation of the government’s commitment to Scottish museums and galleries.

The new strategy will see the Museums Galleries Scotland transform into the National Development Body which will work to “maximise the sector’s reach, growth and potential” in the next decade. The National Development Body will receive around £2.5m a year over the next three years to facilitate the national strategy. The government has maintained the £1m a year funding to the sector that had been available in the National Development Body’s previous guise, and is making available an additional £100,000 for capital projects.

Said Hyslop: “The strategy is also an opportunity for the many other organisations responsible for museums in Scotland to recognise their value and to join with others in the sector to commit to its future.”