Meeting held Friday 6 July 2007
The Board met to discuss issues arising out of the process of appointment of the next Director in the absence of staff. They met to consider the report of the Nominations Committee in the absence of staff, save for the Secretary to the Board.
The Chairman said that this was the last meeting of Victoria Barnsley and recorded the Board’s gratitude for her invaluable contribution, not only at Board meetings, but as a member of the Board’s Audit and Finance Committees. He also thanked her on behalf of the Gallery for her advice on the development of the Gallery’s brand image. The Chairman said that it was also the last Board meeting of the Director and reiterated the Board’s thanks to him, but suggested that a proper farewell should be said by the Board on 26 July.
Minutes of the last meeting and matters arising
1. The Board approved the minutes of the meeting held on 8 June 2007, subject to minor amendments. They were later signed by the Chairman.
Process of Appointment of the Next Director
2. The Board agreed that the names of those on the selection panel should appear on the Gallery‘s website, subject only to the non-Board members confirming they were happy for this to be done. Details of the agreed selection process should also be published on the website.
The Board authorised the Chairman to agree an increased level of remuneration to the Director of Conservation, for the period of his Acting Directorship
Report of Nominations Committee
3. The draft role and person specification was approved subject to minor amendments although it was agreed that it would be helpful to know who the Tate would be appointing to join the Board, at the end of July, before a final decision was made about the skills gaps to be filled. The Board agreed that, when selecting the next Chairman, they would want to be able to consider both existing and new Board members.
Director's report
4. Visitor numbers: the Director reported that visitor numbers for June were up on the same month last year at 302,889. He also reported that the Dutch portraits exhibition had been well received, though visitor numbers might be affected by the current level of security, including bag searches.
The Board requested that they should be presented with a paper (including costings) on the viability of an electronic visitor counting system.
The Board approved the proposal to apply to the AFNGL for a grant of $25,000 towards the cost of funding the 'Technical Bulletin.'
Potential acquisitions
5. The Board confirmed the authority previously conferred on the Chairman to sign the application to the HLF for a grant of £10,000,000 in connection with the possible acquisition of the 'dal Pozzo Sacraments' by Poussin; the Board further confirmed the authority previously conferred on the Director (and after his departure from the Gallery at the end of July, on the Director of Conservation, as Acting Director) to act as the main point of contact with the HLF in connection with this grant application.
Annual Performance Review for DCMS
6. The Board approved the Annual Performance Review, for submission to DCMS.
Exhibition reports
7. The Board noted the contents of the three exhibition reports and approved the format of these reports, save for requesting that, in future, any sponsorship income generated by an exhibition should be shown in the figures at the end of the report. The overall financial outcome should be made easier to extract. It was noted that, in the round , the experiment of having two exhibitions in the permanent exhibition space, and Manet to Picasso in the TEGs, had proved a huge success.
Human Resources Report
8. There was a discussion of this item.
Proposed three-year Corporate Partnership
9. The Board approved in principle the proposed arrangement detailed in this report, and authorised the Chairman, acting on advice from the Head of Development, to agree the detailed provisions of any agreement.
Loans Out
10. The Board noted the report on loans out.
Picture Movements
11. The Board noted the report on picture movements.
Pictures for treatment
12. The Board agreed that 'The Lottery in Piazza di Montecitorio' by Giovanni Paolo Panini (NG6605) should go on display once the final stages of the restoration were complete and the painting had been reframed; and approved the treatment proposed for 'A Distant View of Dordrecht, with a Milkmaid and Four Cows, and Other Figures (‘The Large Dort ’)' by Aelbert Cuyp (NG961). They also saw for information, before treatment, 'The Virgin and Child' attributed to Naddo Ceccarelli (M1192) from the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
Any other Business
13. There was a discussion on the possibility of introducing a 'Friends' scheme, to build on the Gallery’s wide constituency of support. This should not be seen merely as a fundraising proposal, and should not therefore necessarily be considered by the Development department; rather it should come from the Director’s office, once the new Director was appointed.
It was confirmed that, as a separate exercise, a paper on the subject of strategies for fundraising would be presented to the Board by the Development department in the autumn and this should be accompanied by a presentation from the Director of Finance on the part played by the grant-giving charities who gave regular support to the Gallery.
The Artist Trustee tabled a copy of the Agenda for the forthcoming meeting of the Contemporary Art Committee. Mr Mark Getty declared an interest in the proposed display of Jeff Koons 'Egg'. It was agreed that decisions on the issues arising from the Agenda should be left to the Contemporary Art Committee.
Copies of previous Board minutes can be obtained from the Libraries and Archive department.
Confidential and sensitive information has been excluded from these published minutes in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000