Publicly funded gallery 'turning its back on art'

A publicly funded gallery designed to showcase the work of one of the finest British painters of the 20th Century has been accused of turning its back on art.

Oriel y Parc landscape gallery in St Davids, Pembrokeshire, cost £3.5m and was opened in 2008 by Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, with the help of £1.6m in European funding.

Campaigners have accused the authority of "wasting money" by not holding any fine art exhibitions there in recent years and rebranding it as a "discovery centre".

The park authority said it wanted to develop a "clear and lasting vision" to "meet the needs of future audiences".

Oriel y Parc, which was described as a partnership between the park authority and Museum Wales when it opened in 2008, was designed to offer a "permanent home" for rotating exhibitions of artist Graham Sutherland's paintings and "treasures from the collections" of the national museum.

The gallery is classed as Grade A1, meaning it has the necessary environmental controls and security to house major works of art.

Sutherland, who died in 1980, was considered the "finest British painter of his generation", mixing with the likes of Pablo Picasso and Francis Bacon.

His artwork was purchased by stars such as Sophia Loren and David Bowie and is on display in the Vatican Museum and Coventry Cathedral, while his official portrait of Sir Winston Churchill caused a storm when it was destroyed by Churchill's widow.

Works by Sutherland, as well as other prominent artists including John Constable, John Piper and JMW Turner, have all been displayed at Oriel y Parc since it opened 17 years ago.

But there have been no major fine art exhibitions at Oriel y Parc since 2018, and no works by Sutherland have been displayed since 2020.

The Sutherland works are currently being looked after by Museum Wales.

Local artists fear the gallery space - which is currently hosting an exhibition on the 200th anniversary of the RNLI - is being "downgraded" and have written to Culture Minister Jack Sargeant with concerns the authority is turning "its back on art".

"I get the feeling that art might be being viewed as elitist and not for everybody," said artist Nicola Schoenenberger, who is one of the campaigners.

"I feel that might be down to their lack of knowledge about what art can do and what it offers. I think there are a lot of people locally that revere Graham Sutherland, and would like to see the works back.

"It's a complete waste of something that is a very special gem, a jewel in St Davids' crown."

Art historian Peter Lord said Wales "cannot afford to waste a fantastic public resource" like Oriel y Parc.

"We've all paid for it, and those are our pictures," he said.

"The Sutherland family left them to us, and we need to see them.

"If those two important public institutions, the national park and the museum, can't sort this out between them, then I really feel the minister ought to be involved and bang some heads together."

Artist Elizabeth Haines, who has hosted art workshops with local school pupils, said they felt "more connected" to art after seeing paintings in the gallery.

"To have the opportunity for that kind of interaction with young people, to have it as a part of their education, I think we agree would be enormously important.

"Are we just going to throw it away? The place is there. It's done, it's paid for.

"I'm afraid these people don't realise, they can't realise, that it matters. The visual arts are not just something nice that goes with the curtains. "

Tegryn Jones, chief executive of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, denied the facility was being "wasted".

"I don't agree that hosting the national collection of Wales, in its wider sense, is wasting this resource," he said.

"We've had very popular and significant exhibitions that have attracted tens of thousands of people. Our aim is to have a wide cross section of people visiting the gallery."

More than 40,000 visited the gallery at Oriel y Parc in 2015-16 when a painting by Constable was on display, but numbers dipped to about 20,000 last year.

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority said it had "developed a hugely successful programme of exhibitions in partnership with Amgueddfa Cymru [Museum Wales] over the years".

"As an authority we are committed to developing a clear and lasting vision for Oriel y Parc to ensure that it meets the needs of future audiences and builds on the success of the centre over the past 17 years.

"As part of a wider master plan process, we are currently consulting with all interested parties to shape the future of this well-used and respected visitor facility."

Museum Wales said it continued to work jointly with Oriel y Parc and "all galleries and venues must evolve in order to respond to changing audience requirements".

"Should Oriel y Parc decided that it wishes to include the work of Graham Sutherland in future displays, this is something we would be happy to deliver."

The Welsh government declined to comment.