Issue - meetings

G.F. Watts was a leading Victorian artist with major connections and associations with Surrey. The Watts Gallery and Studios are an important cultural and tourism asset for the county.

In connection with his bi-centennial year in 2017 there is an ambition to create a new casting of Watts’ iconic sculpture ‘Physical Energy’. The Watts Gallery Trust will be running an appeal to fund this new piece of art.  

Specialist foundries capable of undertaking this work have limited capacity and there is likely to be a long time scale associated with the casting of such an important fine art sculpture. In order to deliver the project in time for the Watts bi-centennial celebrations, the Watts Gallery may need to commission the casting before the fundraising campaign is completed.

In order to ensure that this major new piece of public art will form a centre piece of the bicentennial celebrations, it is proposed that Surrey County Council provides an interest free loan, up to a value not exceeding £140,000, to enable the Trust to commission the casting alongside an active fund raising campaign.

It is recommended that the Leader agrees to the Council offering an interest free loan to the Watts Gallery Trust for an amount not exceeding £140,000 for the purpose of  the commissioning of casting of G.F. Watts sculpture ‘Physical Energy’ – subject to satisfactory financial and legal due diligence and the following conditions:-

• Any sum loaned to the Trust should be included in the Watts Gallery fund raising appeal target – and Surrey County Council will be reimbursed as the fundraising appeal proceeds, either as single payment or in stages, until the loan is discharged but with a proviso that it will be fully discharged.
• The duration/terms and agreement of the loan to be agreed. The final details to safeguard Surrey County Council’s financial position and the detailed arrangements for the commission and its supervision during the fabrication process will be approved by the Leader, in consultation with the Director of Legal Democratic and Cultural Services and the Director of Finance.
• Until such time as full reimbursement of the loan is received Surrey County Council will have an agreed form of security in the form of a legal charge against either the trust or the asset.
• The Watts Gallery Trust will ensure appropriate insurance arrangements are in place for the replacement cost of the sculpture.