Bristol City Council under fire for art collection worth £134m

The average local authority collection’s is worth £8.7m, of which only 28% is on public display, with Bristol’s collection valued far higher and its proportion on show much lower.

The Taxpayers’ Alliance said that despite being in nearly £100bn of combined debt, UK councils had built up art collections worth almost £1.5bn.

Report author Jonathan Eida said: “These findings won’t paint a pretty picture for hard-pressed taxpayers who have been hammered year after year by record-busting council tax hikes.”

Bristol’s collection of 37,983 works of art is nearly 15 times bigger than the National Gallery’s and six times that for the average council.

A Bristol City Council spokesperson said: “Bristol museums’ collection is a vital part of the city’s cultural and educational offer, with a value that extends beyond an insurers’ estimate.

“Although some may call for cultural assets to be sold off, there are ethical principles and standards of practice that museums are expected to uphold and promote, which include how collections are treated and the sale of items for financial purposes.”