You’ll never do it’… the amazing story that brought Canalettos to The Bowes Museum

In 1982, some said it couldn’t be done – raise £385,000 in weeks to acquire two works by Canaletto. But the woman then in charge of The Bowes Museum, Elizabeth Conran, set out to prove otherwise. Here, she reflects on how it happened all those years ago

THIS year marks the 40th anniversary of the successful conclusion of the Canaletto Appeal, and acquisition of two of the most popular paintings in The Bowes Museum. Not only that, it brought changes to The Friends organisation and also to perception of the museum by the wider public.
The then owner, John Anderson of Kirkharle, in Northumberland, approached me in the spring of 1982 with an offer to sell the paintings to the museum.
He had worked out carefully what he hoped he could achieve. For himself, he wanted a sum of money to spend on his home. He wanted to be able to see the paintings from time to time and to let a wider public see them. The likelihood was that if they went to auction, they would probably leave the North of England.
He did all the right things. He got a commercial valuation and used a Government scheme, which encouraged owners to sell directly to museums. The scheme waived tax which would be paid if the paintings were sold on the open market. Once the calculations had been made, the price for the two was £385,000. He gave us until July 31 to raise this sum and he offered to lend the paintings to the museum for the period.
“You’ll never do it,’ was the response of many.
I reckoned that I could raise £300,000 from grant-giving organisations but still needed to raise £85,000 locally. I also reckoned that it would be simpler to use The Friends’ charitable status to receive donations, as well as their energy and contacts in promoting the Canaletto Appeal. The Friends’ Committee agreed to this proposal, and Durham County Council approved the general plan.
The press were watching. “You’ll never do it!”
Local newspapers, including the Teesdale Mercury, began to follow the appeal, ringing in weekly for news. Slowly the mood changed. Maybe we could “do it” , after all. In mid-June, the secretary of the National Heritage Memorial Fund rang me to say that the fund was so impressed with the local efforts that they would give the appeal “whatever was needed to reach the total” .
Fantastic news – “but you must keep that secret, and you must let us make the first announcement” . That was very, very difficult.
As the end of July approached, the pace of fundraising increased; it was still going strong as the appeal closed. Now the pressure was on – had we done it? It took about a fortnight to let the news out. A very difficult fortnight for me, but yes, we had “done it'”
“So, what’s next?” asked an enthusiastic member of the Friends. Not much, was the short-term answer. In the longer term, a lot was changed by the appeal.
Friends membership increased and wanted to do more. The Friends committee’s ambitions increased. Local people became more involved. The museum’s attendance increased. Its national profile increased. The museum studies course at Leicester University included the campaign in its teaching programme. The paintings went on loan to Tokyo and Venice. They’re among some of the favourite works in the collection. We did “do it” .
This article appears in the current issue of Bowes Arts, the quarterly magazine produced by the Friends of The Bowes Museum and distributed free to members. Sign up to be a Friend of the museum and enjoy many member-benefits. Email friends@thebowesmuseum.org.uk for details.