Annual Report 2004/5 Corrected
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THE ROYAL COLLECTION TRUST Annual Report 201 0–2011 AIMS OF THE ROYAL COLLECTION TRUST In fulfilling the Trust’s objectives, the Trustees’ aims are to ensure that: • the Royal Collection (being the works of art held by The Queen in right of the crown and held in trust for her successors and for the nation) is subject to proper custodial control and that the works of art remain available to future generations; • the Royal Collection is maintained and conserved to the highest possible standards and that visitors can view the Collection in the best possible condition; • as much of the Royal Collection as possible can be seen by members of the public; • the Royal Collection is presented and interpreted so as to enhance public appreciation and understanding; • access to the Royal Collection is broadened and increased (subject to capacity constraints) to ensure that as many people as possible are able to view the Collection; • appropriate acquisitions are made when resources become available, to enhance the Collection and displays of exhibits for the public. When reviewing future activities, the Trustees ensure that these aims continue to be met and are in line with the Charity Commission’s General Guidance on public benefit. This report looks at the achievements of the previous 12 months and considers the success of each key activity and how it has helped enhance the benefit to the nation. FRONT COVER : Carl Haag (182 0–1915), Morning in the Highlands: the Royal Family ascending Lochnagar , 1853 (detail). A Christmas present from Prince Albert to Queen Victoria, the painting was included in the exhibition Victoria & Albert: Art & Love , at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, from March to December 2010. BACK COVER : Princess Elizabeth, by Marcus Adams (1875–1959), taken on 15 December 1936, four days after the proclamation of the Princess’s father, the Duke of York, as King George VI. The photograph was included in the exhibition Marcus Adams: Royal Photographer at Windsor and Holyroodhouse. FRONTISPIECE : Jan van der Heyden (1637 –1712), A Country House on the Vliet near Delft , c.1660 (detail). The painting was included in the exhibition Dutch Landscapes at The Queen’s Galleries in London and Edinburgh. THE ROYAL COLLECTION TRUST Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2011 www.royalcollection.org.uk Company limited by guarantee, registered number 2713536 Registered Charity number 1016972 Scottish Charity number SC 039772 TRUSTEES OF THE ROYAL COLLECTION TRUST Chairman of the Trustees HRH The Prince of Wales, KG, KT, GCB, OM, AK, QSO, ADC ϳ•• ϳ Deputy Chairman The Earl Peel, GCVO ϳ•• ϳ Trustees Lady Shaw-Stewart (to 31 March 2011) The Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, KBE, DL (from 31 March 2011) Mr Duncan Robinson, CBE, DL Mr Peter Troughton The Rt Hon. Christopher Geidt, CVO, OBE Sir Alan Reid, KCVO ϳ•• ϳ Director of the Royal Collection Jonathan Marsden, LVO, FSA CONTENTS Chairman’s Foreword 5 Report of the Director of the Royal Collection 7 Custodial Control 11 Conservation 13 Paintings 13 Decorative Arts 14 Works on Paper 14 Preventive Conservation 16 Access and Presentation 17 Buckingham Palace 17 The State Rooms 17 The Queen’s Gallery 18 The Royal Mews 19 Windsor Castle 20 The State Apartments and Precincts 20 The Drawings Gallery 20 Special Visits and Research Enquiries 20 Palace of Holyroodhouse 21 The State Apartments and Precincts 21 The Queen’s Gallery 23 Historic Royal Palaces 24 Travelling Exhibitions 24 Loans 24 Interpretation 26 Learning 26 Publishing 30 New Media 33 Accessions and Acquisitions 34 Trading Activities 36 Retail 36 Picture Library 37 Financial Overview 38 Summarised Financial Statements 40 Exhibitions and Loans 43 Royal Collection Exhibitions 43 Loans 43 Staff of the Royal Collection 48 External Appointments 48 Staff Numbers 48 Staff Training and Development 49 Staff List 50 • More than 400 works of art conserved • 9 exhibitions staged • 80 public lectures given by staff • 8 books published • 2.1 million visitors to Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Royal Mews and The Queen’s Galleries • 105,000 complimentary or 1-Year Pass visitors • 94 loans to 41 exhibitions in the UK and 13 other countries • 5 awards for publications and visitor services 6ANNUAL R EPORT 2011 REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE ROYAL COLLECTION Jonathan Marsden he list of achievements in the year under review provides evidence of sustained progress towards the Tfulfilment of the Royal Collection Trust’s charitable aims. It also demonstrates the effectiveness of the ‘virtuous circle’, whereby the ever wider enjoyment of the Collection can contribute towards its long-term care and preservation. By any measure, 2010–11 was one of the most successful years since the Trust was founded in 1993, and it was the most successful in purely financial terms. This was a very strong year for visitors at all the residences, the Royal Mews and The Queen’s Galleries; despite the overall economic outlook, admissions grew by 8.3 per cent. The achievement of a 17.8 per cent increase in retail sales no doubt reflected last year’s investment in the Middle Ward shop at Windsor, the continuing introduction of imaginative and attractive ranges, and the professionalism of sales staff. The growth in online retail, particularly of the special range introduced to commemorate the wedding of Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton, has made a very significant contribution. The annual Summer Opening of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace attracted a total of 413,000 visitors, the second highest total since the inaugural season of 1993. The special display, The Queen’s Year , gave visitors a thorough insight into the range of Her Majesty’s duties and engagements across the seasons, a pattern that has been consolidated in the course of the reign, but which, as the display made abundantly clear, continues to develop. The success of the display and its accompanying book depended heavily on the willing co-operation of the many colleagues in the Royal Household who work to deliver The Queen’s annual programme, both in the form of advice as members of the project team, and in securing appropriate exhibits to illustrate such activities as the Royal Maundy service, the State Opening of Parliament and Privy Council meetings. Visitors to the Palace made full use of the Garden Café, installed on the West Terrace for the second year. The introduction of Garden Tours as an additional option for group visits to the State Rooms was also very successful. The Victoria & Albert: Art & Love exhibition at The Queen’s Gallery, London, was seen by a total of 185,000 visitors. The daily attendance was second only to the inaugural Royal Treasures exhibition in 2002. Most encouragingly, two-thirds of the visitors surveyed in the first three Life-size statues of Queen Victoria (1847), by John Gibson, and Prince Albert (1849), months (March–June 2010) said they were visiting The Queen’s Gallery by Emil Wolff, greeted visitors to the for the first time. This is a sign of our ability to reach beyond the core Victoria & Albert: Art & Love exhibition. A NNUAL R EPORT 2011 7 audience established for the Gallery over nearly 50 years, and is crucial to the attainment of our charitable aim of ensuring the widest possible enjoyment and appreciation of the Collection. Success in this case seems to have been due to the intrinsic appeal of the relationship between the young Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and the very extensive media coverage that resulted from this, combined with imaginative marketing and the range of activities undertaken in partnership with such organisations as the National Gallery, the Victorian Society and the Victoria and Albert Museum. In addition, the 1-Year Pass, enabling the purchaser to return repeatedly following their initial visit, has proved very popular. In an eventful year for exhibitions, Dutch Landscapes , selected and catalogued by Desmond Shawe-Taylor and Jennifer Scott, completed a long and successful run at The Queen’s Gallery, Edinburgh. It transferred to The Queen’s Gallery, London, on 15 April 2011 and will be shown at the Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, from November 2011. A photographic selection of the pioneering work of Roger Fenton and Julia Margaret Cameron was shown at Aberdeen Art Gallery before transferring to Blackwell, The Arts and Craft House, at Bowness-on-Windermere. The Heart of the Great Alone , which tells the story of the Scott and Shackleton expeditions to the Antarctic through the photographs of Herbert Ponting and Frank Hurley, opened at the Canterbury Museum, Christchurch, New Zealand, shortly before the city was damaged by a substantial earthquake in September 2010. The exhibition re-opened as soon as was practical and was seen by almost 20,000 visitors. The curators Sophie Gordon and Emma Stuart, and the explorer David Hempleman-Adams, co-authors of the accompanying book, took part in events at the Museum during the period of the exhibition. A week before the planned closing date in February, a further, more serious earthquake occurred. The Canterbury Museum withstood the shock far better than any other historic building in the city, and the exhibition returned to the UK unscathed after a delay of only six weeks. It will be shown at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, from October 2011. The publication of catalogues raisonnés of the Collection is an essential and perpetual task. Although more than 50 titles have appeared over the past century, many areas remain as yet unpublished. Vanessa Remington’s two-volume catalogue of Victorian Miniatures , which appeared in November 2010, is to be celebrated not only as a substantial achievement in its own right, completed in a remarkably short time and to the highest standards of scholarship, but also as it completes the publication of the entire collection of some 2,646 miniatures, ranging in date from 1526 to 1901.