CREATe (University of Glasgow), The Hunterian and the Institute of Art and Law are delighted to announce their collaboration in convening an in-person event Donor Restrictions on Galleries and Museums, on Thursday 18th April 2024, 5.30-6.30pm, at The Hunterian Art Gallery, Glasgow.

Over drinks, we will celebrate a Special Issue of the Institute of Art and Law’s journal Art Antiquity and Law (general editor Ruth Redmond-Cooper): Donor Restrictions on Galleries and Museums guest-edited by Elena Cooper (CREATe) and Steph Scholten (The Hunterian). The Special Issue, first published in April 2023, is now available for free download here, on the CREATe website.

While the formal legal channels for varying donor restrictions are well-known, at this event we explore how scholarly work – particularly legal history – can facilitate the relaxation of donor restrictions in certain circumstances. To illustrate this approach, the painting Brown and Gold: Portrait of Lady Eden by James MacNeill Whistler (1834-1903) will be brought out of store and displayed in the main gallery space, which is made possible by the legal history scholarship in the Art Antiquity and Law Special Issue. Could a similar approach be taken to donor restrictions in relation to other paintings held elsewhere?

This event is made possible by funding from the University of Glasgow’s Knowledge Exchange Fund (GKE) for the project: Interpreting Donor Restrictions: Going Beyond Whistler’s ‘Portrait of Lady Eden’.

There is a separate registration page for the conference From Scotland to the World: Repatriation and Museums, Friday 19th April, 9am-5pm at Kelvin Hall. 

LAST MINUTE TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE ON THE DOOR FROM 8.45AM

https://events.bookitbee.com/university-of-glasgow-create/from-scotland-to-the-world-full-day-conference/

Both events are open to scholars, museum and gallery professionals (and their professional advisers), as well as students, those from claimant communities and those working on aspects of reparative justice relating to the conference themes. Should you have any questions about whether to attend, please contact elena.cooper@glasgow.ac.uk.