Henry Moore Artwork Catalogue
British Council Collection up for sale to ease £200m debt
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Bib. Number0024353
British Council Collection up for sale to ease £200m debt
Author/EditorCHAPPELL Peter
PublisherThe Times
Place PublishedLondon
Year2025
Date & Collation(20 January)
LanguageEnglish
Summary of contentArticle outlining the current plight of the British Council, stated by
Chief Executive, Scott McDonald, as being in "constant threat of
insolvency" and facing "financial peril" and its plans to allieviate the
situation by selling some of its £200m art collection. Half of
the collection, comprising of 9,000 pieces in total, is protected by
agreements preventing their sale but any work without such an agreement
is at potential risk. Although no official list of artworks for sale has
yet been published, works by artists such as Duncan Grant, Ben
Nicholson and an alabaster sculpture by Henry Moore are reported to
be items that could be sold. The article discusses how an emergency loan
from the Foreign Office during the pandemic era with interest payments
of £14m per year has crippled the British Council who are calling for
urgent action from the British Government to help ensure it's future.