[MSN] Will it? Won´t it? The past few weeks have seen intense to-ing and fro-ing as both Russian and British governments argue the toss over the forthcoming Russian Art Exhibition that has been long-scheduled to open at the Royal Academy in London

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Perestroika? Bah Humbug!
Written by Julie Dalby   
Monday, 07 January 2008

Will it? Won´t it? Will it? Won´t it? So much for the season of goodwill! The past few weeks have seen intense to-ing and fro-ing as both Russian and British governments argue the toss over the forthcoming Russian Art Exhibition that has been long-scheduled to open at the Royal Academy in London from 26th January (and run until 18th April). The exhibition is snappily entitled 'From Russia: French and Russian Master Paintings 1870 - 1925'. Sounds more like a 'Mastermind' Specialist Subject! In what was initially thought to have been a pouting response to the recent British Council shenanigans (and/or the outstanding political and legal hassle over the Litvinenko assassination) between the two countries, it actually turns out that the Russians were genuinely concerned over the security of their French and Russian masterpieces including Picasso´s 'Dryad' and Matisse´s 'The Dance'. Their concern was not over the risk of theft, but rather the very real risk of seizure by the 
descendants of two 19th and 20th century collectors who lay claim to legal ownership of several works. Or, no doubt, anyone else who came out of the woodwork. What worried the Russians as much was the possibility of a repeat of the incident in Switzerland in 2005 when a collection of masterpieces were seized by a Swiss company over alleged unpaid debts by Russia. These, incidentally, were later returned to Russia following some heavy diplomatic muscle-flexing.

Despite British assurances that the works would be protected under the UK State Immunity Act 1978, this failed to impress the Russians (and who could blame them?). Perhaps it was just as well, because a short while later the British Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Wow! I wonder if he´s paid according the length of his title?) - one James Purnell - felt it incumbent upon himself to 'clarify' the situation, saying that, "A provision of law approved by Parliament …. and due to come into force in late February, would become effective on or about 7th January." Surely, that implies that the truth of the matter was that the artworks were not protected prior to that sudden change of effective date? Or is it just me being a) cynical, and b) unused to political-speak (where nothing is as it seems!)?
Still unimpressed, the Russians demanded a British Government waiver to protect the paintings. It seems that, as of today, the Russians will receive a so-called 'Letter of Comfort' from the UK government and that this will satisfy their concerns - together, of course, with the adoption of the revised earlier date of implementation. So that´s that. Or is it? Let´s wait and see, because I´ve been unable to obtain a definitive yes or no. Mind you, that´s hardly unusual now that politicians have become involved!

Hang on, though, there´s more to this issue than just legal and political wrangling, isn´t there? How about the true ownership of these works? How about the manner in which they were collected, liberated, gathered together in the first place? Because  this raises serious issues of a both moral and legal nature, doesn´t it? For example, some of these works were seized by the Russian (let´s not get into semantics about the Soviet Union, Russia and so on, please!) state after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.. In 2003, the grandson of the (alleged) original owner of 25 paintings by Picasso, Degas and Van Gogh unsuccessfully sued to have them returned because they´d been stolen from his grandfather at the time of the Revolution and later passed to the Pushkin Museum. Did the action fail because it was unjustified? Or did it fail for some other reason such as incomplete evidence or the huge costs of the action? I leave you to wrestle with the moral dilemma because, frankly, I kn
ow whose side I´m on! So what else is new for 2008? I´m going to tease you a bit by telling you that some important advances are afoot at Studio 5.

Quite apart from the expansion of our Art School activities (more classes, more courses and - thank heaven - more students!), I´m conducting a revamp of the Gallery itself and the works that I´ll be displaying. That includes the solo exhibitions in addition to our ongoing collective exhibits. But you´ll have to visit to see for yourself! However, you can (as always) rest assured that it´s in the best possible taste (with acknowledgements to that great Scouse comedian, the late Kenny Everett) and designed for you to enjoy your art and Studio 5 even more in 2008. May you and yours have a safe, successful and happy 2008 and may your God watch over you.

http://www.roundtownnews.co.uk