The work of the art charity, the Public Catalogue Foundation (PCF) is to go online, allowing everyone with access to the internet to enjoy all the oil paintings owned by the British taxpayer, most hardly ever seen.
The PCF is working with the BBC, which will host the massive online archive, to feature all the paintings on view in galleries but especially all those in storage or in buildings such as offices, hospitals, schools, embassies and municipal buildings. This “hidden art” almost never seen by the taxpayer is thought to be up to 80% of the total of 200,000 works.
Currently the PCF publish a series of 24 county-by-county colour catalogues, all priced at £15 paperback, £25 hardback and including some specific collections such as those in the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Imperial War Museum, the Slade and UCL galleries, the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge and the Government Art Collection.