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West Sussex
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Gore, Spencer (1878-1914)The Pond (1912-1913)Courtesy of Worthing Museum and Art Gallery |
National Inventory Research ProjectThe National Inventory Research Project (NIRP) was initiated by the National Gallery, London, in liaison with colleagues in other national and regional collections. The project is addressing two issues: the decline in collection research in UK museums, and the lack of publicly accessible information about collections especially in regional museums. The first phase of the project is devoted to 20,000 pre-1900 Continental European oil paintings of in over 200 public collections in the UK. Like the PCF, NIRP aims to dramatically increase public access to information about Britain's public art collections. It will be a major contribution to the realisation of national and regional cultural policies on improving access to our national heritage, and with lifelong learning. It will raise the national and international profile of many regional collections and encourage further research into them, and their use in exhibitions and publications. The 2001 report Renaissance in the Regions highlighted the need for research into regional collections and for increased collaboration between regional museums, national museums and universities. NIRP is a significant example of the way such partnerships can further the ambitions of regional hubs, which are charged with implementing the recommendations of Renaissance in the Regions. The project has received widespread support within the museum community in the UK. It is managed by a Steering Committee representing national, regional and university art collections throughout the UK. Grants were received from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (£328,000), the Getty Grant Program (£210,000) and the Kress Foundation (£8,200) to enable the recruitment of a team of researchers to work on priority collections across the UK and compile the first stage of the project’s database. NIRP’s work in the regions was also aided by the Pilgrim Trust research grants and Neil MacGregor Scholarships awarded by the National Gallery. This research project was implemented by a partnership between the NIRP Steering Committee, Birkbeck University of London, the University of Glasgow, and the Arts and Humanities Data Service and began in October 2004. Researchers were based in regional museums throughout the UK and created new authoritative records on 8,000 often under-researched and little-known paintings. The resulting illustrated, searchable, online database, ‘NICE Paintings: the National Inventory of Continental European Paintings’, was launched in November 2007 and is now accessible through the Arts and Humanities Data Service on http://vads.ahds.ac.uk/collections/NIRP/index.php and through the University of Glasgow on www.nicepaintings.org. The websites are designed to be of use and interest to scholars and curators and the wider educational sector, as well as to lifelong learners and the general public. Additional
fundraising is now taking place to incorporate into ‘NICE Paintings’ data on
10,000 further paintings in major collections such as national and university
museums, which were not a priority in the first phase. NIRP is continuing to
raise money for museum collection research in old master paintings and other
areas. NIRP is also working closely with the PCF to create a joint database and
website for the two organisations which will bring its research before an even
wider audience. |
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