Acquisition & Disposal Policy

The Collection

The Committee of the New Hall Art Collection, with the assistance of the Advisory Board, is responsible to the College for the maintenance of a collection of contemporary work by women artists in a variety of media.

Acquisition

The Committee acquires, by donation, works in a variety of media from significant women artists.  Long-term loans are also sought.  In addition, they maintain an archive containing documentation relating to the artists featured in the Collection.

The Committee will meet three times a year to consider works proposed for inclusion in the Collection.  Proposals will be considered exceptionally at other times at the Committee's discretion.

When the Committee considers a potential acquisition, it takes account above all of the quality of the work and its suitability as part of the Collection. It is also guided by considerations of the college's responsibility to ensure adequate conservation, documentation and proper use, and also takes into account limitations imposed by such factors as staffing, storage, conservation resources and display space. Acquisitions which fall outside its policy guidelines will only be made in very exceptional circumstances and then only after detailed consideration by the Committee.  Advice is also sought from the Advisory Board.

The College will employ a system of rotation for the display of works. Any work not on display will be stored appropriately within the College. Works may be loaned to other galleries and exhibitions at the Committee's discretion and under appropriate conditions.

The artist will be asked to give her signed consent for ownership of the work to be passed to Murray Edwards College.  The College can reproduce her donated work within the New Hall Art Collection and related publications and merchandise. The artist will continue to hold the copyright and will be informed in advance of all plans to use the image. She is not obliged to sign the consent form. UK copyright law will protect the works.

All artists will be asked to approve catalogue entries (both hard copy and on the website) relating to their work.

Disposal

Works of art accepted permanently into the Collection will not be sold. The Committee reserves the ultimate right to dispose of a work where the work has been degraded by reason of damage, physical deterioration, or infestation by destructive organisms (in which case the means of disposal can include destruction) and where the cost of repair is higher than the regularly updated insurance value. Nevertheless, there is a strong presumption against disposal for any reason, and any such decision will be taken only after due consideration by the Committee acting on advice of professional curatorial staff at recognised museum and gallery collections, and not by the Curator of the Collection acting alone.

In the event of a decision to dispose of a work, the Committee will contact the artist, donor or appropriate estate, giving details of the work involved and allowing a period of at least two months for interest in the return of the work to be expressed. Full records will be kept of all such decisions and of the works involved, and proper arrangements made for the preservation or transfer (as appropriate) of the relevant documentation, including photographic records.

In the event of the disbandment or reduction of the Collection, the artist or donor will be contacted and allowed a period of at least two months for interest in the return of the work to be expressed. If the artist or donor does not wish for the work to be returned, it will be offered to another appropriate collection, in the first instance, or disposed of.

Data Protection Policy

All data is securely held in the New Hall Art Collection database and is treated confidentially and with sensitivity. The data is available to members of the New Hall Art Committee only. However, under the terms of the 1998 Data Protection Act, the artist has the right to object to the use of her data for any of the above purposes.

This policy statement is published by New Hall and will be reviewed every five years, the next review being due in 2016.