Legalize / United Kingdom / Public General Act

Museums and Galleries Act 1992

Type Public General Act

Publication 1992-03-16

State In force

Department Statute Law Database

Source legislation.gov.uk

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The new Boards of Trustees

Establishment, constitution, functions and property etc. of new Boards of Trustees

1

(1) There shall be bodies corporate known as—

(a) the Board of Trustees of the National Gallery (in this Act referred to as “the National Gallery Board”);

(b) the Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery (in this Act referred to as “the Tate Gallery Board”);

(c) the Board of Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery (in this Act referred to as “the National Portrait Gallery Board”); and

(d) the Board of Trustees of the Wallace Collection (in this Act referred to as “the Wallace Collection Board”);

and any reference in this Act to a “new Board” is a reference to any of those bodies corporate.

(2) The Schedules to this Act specified in paragraphs (a) to (d) below shall have effect with respect to the constitution and functions of the new Boards so specified, that is to say—

(a) Schedule 1, with respect to the National Gallery Board;

(b) Schedule 2, with respect to the Tate Gallery Board;

(d) Schedule 4, with respect to the Wallace Collection Board;

and references to “the Board” in any of those Schedules are references to that one of the new Boards with respect to which that Schedule has effect.

(3) On the vesting day for a new Board there shall, by virtue of this subsection, be transferred to and vested in the new Board—

(a) all the property and rights which immediately before that day are held by any of the new Board’s predecessor Trustees in their capacity as such; and

(b) any liabilities or obligations to which, immediately before that day, any of those Trustees are subject in that capacity.

(4) References in subsection (3) above to property, rights, liabilities and obligations are references to any property, rights, liabilities or obligations whether or not capable of being transferred or assigned.

(5) On and after the vesting day for a new Board—

(a) any agreement (whether in writing or not) which subsists immediately before that day and to which the transferors are a party shall have effect as if the new Board had been the party to it; and

(b) any reference to the transferors in such an agreement or in any other agreement, instrument or document (other than an enactment) in being immediately before that day shall, as respects anything falling to be done on or after that day, be construed as a reference to the new Board.

(6) Without prejudice to the generality of subsections (3) to (5) above, any legal proceedings or applications to any authority pending immediately before the vesting day for a new Board by or against the transferors shall be continued by or against the new Board to the exclusion of the transferors.

(7) The substitution effected by subsections (3) to (5) above of a new Board for the transferors as employer under contracts of employment subsisting immediately before the vesting day for that new Board shall be treated for the purposes of the application of section 218(3) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (continuity of employment on statutory substitution of employers) as the substitution of one body corporate for another body corporate.

(8) If, immediately before the vesting day for the National Gallery Board, any person is custodian trustee of property held on trust for the National Gallery, then—

(a) in the application of subsections (3), (5) and (6) above in the case of that new Board, any reference in those subsections to the new Board’s predecessor Trustees or to the transferors includes a reference to the custodian trustee in his capacity as such; and

(b) immediately after the transfer effected under subsection (3) above by virtue of this subsection, the custodian trusteeship shall terminate.

(9) The National Gallery Board shall pay to any person whose custodian trusteeship terminates by virtue of subsection (8) above an amount equal to, and in lieu of, any sums to which that person would have become entitled in connection with the termination of the custodian trusteeship, had the termination been effected otherwise than by this Act.

(10) In this section—

“the predecessor Trustees” means—in relation to the National Gallery Board, the National Gallery Trustees;in relation to the Tate Gallery Board, the Tate Gallery Trustees;in relation to the National Portrait Gallery Board, the National Portrait Gallery Trustees; andin relation to the Wallace Collection Board, the Trustees of the Wallace Collection;

“the transferors”, in relation to a new Board, means the new Board’s predecessor Trustees and includes a reference to any of those Trustees in their capacity as such;

“the vesting day”, in relation to a new Board, means the day appointed under section 11(4) below for the coming into force of subsections (3) to (6) above in relation to that new Board.

The general functions of the new Boards

2

(1) So far as practicable and subject to the provisions of this Act, the National Gallery Board shall maintain a collection of works of art, principally consisting of pictures, of established merit or significance, and of documents relating to those works, and shall—

(a) care for, preserve and add to the works of art and the documents in their collection;

(b) secure that the works of art are exhibited to the public;

(c) secure that the works of art and the documents are available to persons seeking to inspect them in connection with study or research; and

(d) generally promote the public’s enjoyment and understanding of painting and other fine art both by means of the Board’s collection and by such other means as they consider appropriate.

(2) So far as practicable and subject to the provisions of this Act, the Tate Gallery Board shall maintain a collection of British works of art and of documents relating to those works, and a collection of Twentieth Century and contemporary works of art and of documents relating to those works, and shall—

(a) care for, preserve and add to the works of art and the documents in their collections;

(b) secure that the works of art are exhibited to the public;

(c) secure that the works of art and the documents are available to persons seeking to inspect them in connection with study or research; and

(d) generally promote the public’s enjoyment and understanding of British art, and of Twentieth Century and contemporary art, both by means of the Board’s collections and by such other means as they consider appropriate;

and any reference in this Act to a new Board’s collection shall, in its application to the Tate Gallery Board, be taken as a reference to either or both of that Board’s collections.

(3) So far as practicable and subject to the provisions of this Act, the National Portrait Gallery Board shall maintain a collection of portraits of the most eminent persons in British history, of other works of art relevant to portraiture and of documents relating to those portraits and other works of art, and shall—

(a) care for, preserve and add to the portraits and other works of art and the documents in their collection;

(b) secure that the portraits are exhibited to the public;

(c) secure that the portraits and other works of art and the documents are available to persons seeking to inspect them in connection with study or research; and

(d) generally promote the public’s enjoyment and understanding of portraiture of British persons and British history through portraiture both by means of the Board’s collection and by such other means as they consider appropriate.

(4) So far as practicable and subject to the provisions of this Act, the Wallace Collection Board shall maintain the collection of objects known as the Wallace Collection and shall—

(a) care for and preserve the objects in their collection;

(b) secure that the objects are exhibited to the public;

(d) generally promote the public’s enjoyment and understanding of fine and applied art both by means of the Board’s collection and by such other means as they consider appropriate.

(5) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a new Board may, for the purposes of whichever of subsections (1) to (4) above confers functions upon them—

(a) provide education, instruction and advice and carry out research;

(b) enter into contracts and other agreements (including agreements for the new Board’s occupation or management of its principal building or of other premises); and

(6) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a new Board may do such things (including requiring payment for admission or for other services or for goods provided by them) as they think necessary or expedient—

(a) for preserving, and increasing the utility of, their collection;

(b) for securing the due administration of anything vested in or acquired by them, and any premises occupied or managed by them, under or by virtue of this Act; and

(7) If a Minister of the Crown directs a new Board to exercise functions—

(a) which are exercisable by him (whether by virtue of an enactment or otherwise),

(b) which in his opinion can appropriately be exercised by that new Board, having regard to their functions and resources, and

the new Board shall exercise them on his behalf in such manner as he may from time to time direct; but nothing in this subsection authorises the new Board to exercise a function of making regulations or other instruments of a legislative character.

(8) A new Board shall not acquire or dispose of land without the consent of the Lord President of the Council.

(9) A new Board may allow premises occupied or managed by them to be used by other persons (for payment or otherwise) for purposes not connected with the functions mentioned in whichever of subsections (1) to (4) above has effect in relation to that new Board, if the new Board are satisfied that to do so would not conflict unduly with those functions.

(10) The reference in subsection (5)(b) above to a new Board’s “principal building” is a reference—

(a) in the case of the National Gallery Board, to the premises known as the National Gallery;

(b) in the case of the Tate Gallery Board, to the premises known as the Tate Gallery;

(d) in the case of the Wallace Collection Board, to the premises known as Hertford House.

Power of the new Boards to form companies

3

(1) With the consent of the Lord President of the Council and subject to any conditions he may impose, a new Board may form, or take part in forming, one or more bodies corporate which, or each of which, has as its main object or objects—

(a) one or more of those mentioned in whichever of subsections (2) to (5) below has effect in relation to that new Board; or

(b) any other object or objects incidental to the new Board’s functions.

(2) In relation to the National Gallery Board, the objects are—

(a) the production and publication of books, films or other informative material relating to fine art;

(b) the production of replicas or reproductions of works of art, or of souvenirs;

(c) the sale (whether or not at an hour when the collection is open to the public for viewing) of informative material relating to fine art, of replicas or reproductions of works of art, or of souvenirs or other goods; and

(d) the provision (whether or not at such an hour) of catering or car parking or other services or facilities for the public at any premises occupied or managed by the Board.

(3) In relation to the Tate Gallery Board, the objects are—

(a) the production and publication of books, films or other informative material relating to British art or Twentieth Century or contemporary art;

(b) the commissioning of works of art;

(d) the sale (whether or not at an hour when the collection is open to the public for viewing) of informative material relating to art, of replicas or reproductions of works of art, or of souvenirs or other goods; and

(e) the provision (whether or not at such an hour) of catering or car parking or other services or facilities for the public at any premises occupied or managed by the Board.

(4) In relation to the National Portrait Gallery Board, the objects are—

(a) the production and publication of books, films or other informative material relating to portraiture of British persons or British history through portraiture;

(b) the commissioning of portraits of eminent British persons;

(d) the sale (whether or not at an hour when the collection is open to the public for viewing) of informative material relating to portraiture of British persons or British history through portraiture, of replicas or reproductions of portraits of eminent British persons, or of souvenirs or other goods; and

(e) the provision (whether or not at such an hour) of catering or car parking or other services or facilities for the public at any premises occupied or managed by the Board.

(5) In relation to the Wallace Collection Board, the objects are—

(a) the production and publication of books, films or other informative material relating to fine or applied art;

(b) the production of replicas or reproductions of works of art, or of souvenirs;

(c) the sale (whether or not at an hour when the collection is open to the public for viewing) of informative material relating to fine or applied art, of replicas or reproductions of works of art, or of souvenirs or other goods; and

(d) the provision (whether or not at such an hour) of catering or car parking or other services or facilities for the public at any premises occupied or managed by the Board.

(6) A new Board authorised by subsection (1) above to form or take part in forming any such body as is mentioned in that subsection may hold interests in any such body, exercise rights conferred by the holding of interests in it, and provide financial or other assistance to or in respect of it (including assistance by way of guarantee of its obligations).

(7) This section is without prejudice to any power of a new Board to undertake by virtue of section 2 above anything mentioned in subsection (1)(b) above or in whichever of subsections (2) to (5) above has effect in relation to that new Board.

Acquisition and disposal of pictures and other objects

4

(1) The National Gallery Board, the Tate Gallery Board or the National Portrait Gallery Board may, in particular, acquire (whether by purchase, exchange or gift) any relevant objects which, in the opinion of the Board concerned, it is desirable to add to their collection.

(2) In this section “relevant objects” means—

(a) in the case of the National Gallery Board, works of art,

(b) in the case of the Tate Gallery Board, works of art, and

and, in each case, includes any documents relating to a relevant object which falls, or has at any time fallen, within paragraph (a), (b) or (c) above, as the case may be, and which is, or at that time was, comprised in the Board’s collection.

(3) The National Gallery Board shall not dispose of a relevant object the property in which is vested in them and which is comprised in their collection unless the disposal is an exercise of the power conferred by section 6 below.

(4) The Tate Gallery Board shall not dispose of a relevant object the property in which is vested in them and which is comprised in their collections unless—

(a) the disposal is an exercise of the power conferred by section 6 below;

(b) the disposal is of a relevant object which, in the Board’s opinion, is unsuitable for retention in their collections and can be disposed of without detriment to the interests of students or other members of the public; or

(c) the disposal (by whatever means, including destruction) is of a relevant object which the Board are satisfied has become useless for the purposes of their collections by reason of damage, physical deterioration, or infestation by destructive organisms;

but this subsection is without prejudice to any trust or condition (express or implied) prohibiting or restricting disposal of the relevant object.

(5) The National Portrait Gallery Board shall not dispose of a relevant object the property in which is vested in them and which is comprised in their collection unless—

(a) the disposal is an exercise of the power conferred by section 6 below;

(b) the disposal is by way of sale, exchange or gift of a relevant object which is a duplicate of another relevant object the property in which is so vested and which is so comprised;

(c) the disposal (by whatever means) is of a portrait and the Board are satisfied that the identification formerly accepted by them of the person portrayed has been discredited; or

(d) the disposal (by whatever means, including destruction) is of a relevant object which the Board are satisfied has become useless for the purposes of their collection by reason of damage, physical deterioration or infestation by destructive organisms;

and a relevant object may be disposed of by the Board as mentioned in paragraph (d) above notwithstanding a trust or condition (express or implied) prohibiting or restricting the disposal of the relevant object.

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