Is it an important work of art which should never leave these shores or a once-in-a-lifetime windfall that could change the fortunes of a Highland town?
The 1728 marble bust by French sculptor Edme Bouchardon was bought by a town council for £5 in 1931, then rediscovered in a shed in 1998, being used as a doorstop.
Now, following an online public consultation, the Black Isle and Easter Ross committee have recommended Highland Council agree to the sale of the bust of Sir John Gordon, who gave his name to Invergordon.
Committee member, Councillor Maxine Smith, discovered the bust in the council shed 26 years ago when it was valued at £270,000.
Will Bouchardon bust of Sir John Gordon be sold?
It briefly went on display at Invergordon Museum, as well as the Louvre, which has other Edme Bouchardon artefacts, and the J Paul Getty Museum.
“Over the years it went up in value, until it was over £1 million,” said Maxine.
“At that point, I said, it’s doing us no good whatsoever in storage, why don’t we try to sell it?
“We can’t put it on locally, we can’t afford the insurance, and it’s not going to raise us any money.
“To me, if you’ve got an asset, you want to see something from it. I’m not sure what joy we are getting out of the bust when most people didn’t know it existed and we can’t see it.”
The bust is an asset of Invergordon Common Good Fund.
Bouchardon bust of Sir John Gordon could have a replica made
Maxine said a replica, by a well-known artist, could be worth around £200,000 which would increase over time.
“In 50 years, that might be worth £2.5 million,” she said.
“People could see it and enjoy it. And they would know the story behind it, which is great. Then we can get money from the interest on the sale.
“We’ve got some opposition saying, ‘this is an Invergordon asset, we want to keep it, what a shame’.
“Sorry, but I don’t do the ‘what a shame’ thing. I’m a businesswoman and I’m thinking, how can we help Invergordon?
“This would give us a steady income. We could spend it each year or save it and do something big. It’s a way Invergordon can better itself.
‘Only value is to sell it’
“The community council said they wanted to keep it, they had found a way of insuring it and they were going to try to hire it out to museums.
“But the officer looked into that and museums are not interested in hiring it.
“And they said, ‘we’ll get 10,000 cruise passengers to come and look at it at a fiver a head’.
“Really? No, you won’t. That business case does not stack up.
“To me, the only value in this is to sell it.”
In 2022 Highland Council said any proposed sale “would be subject to a full public consultation under the Community Empowerment Act”.
Maxine insisted this has happened.
“It was a full and proper public consultation. It was advertised. The council put it all over Facebook, as did I.
“There were hundreds of interactions on social media. But when it came down to people actually doing it, it was 80 to 100, something like that.
“I know the community council are thinking, oh that’s hardly anybody.
“But the council have done consultations before and this is quite a high number of people to reply. It’s a valid consultation. It’s been done properly.
Waverley Criteria ‘would see it offered to UK buyer’
“If Invergordon doesn’t want to sell the bust, then let it stay in storage.
“I’m not going to get any personal benefit out of selling it!
Maxine said if the council decides to sell, the Waverley Criteria would see it offered to a buyer in the UK.
“I’ve heard the Edinburgh museum would like it. If they want to pay £2.5 million they can have it and that will be lovely.”
Art historian on why the Bouchardon bust is important
Art historian and TV presenter Bendor Grosvenor explained the significance of the bust.
“It’s one of the finest 18th Century portrait busts of a scot in Scotland,” he said.
“It’s an astounding work of art and represents that cultural and historical moment when Scots were travelling to Europe and bringing back a whole different aesthetic – neo-classicism.
“The reason town buildings built throughout Scotland in the later 18th and 19th centuries look classical is because of people like Gordon going over and finding that taste attractive.
“It symbolises the particularly European connections that Scots and Scotland have always had.
“There’s no reason why it can’t go on display. They talk about insurance being too expensive.
“Nonsense. Government schemes… provide an insurance umbrella for publicly-owned objects.
“It’s a failure of imagination. Highland Council is building a museum in Inverness Castle.
“Here’s a windfall, a beautiful object, which could go in it and they are turning their backs on it.
“Is this the thin end of the wedge? If the council is able to flog this, what else will they start measuring up in the vaults?”
Highland Council says a response to each comment made as part of the consultation – “including those that raised concerns regarding the consultation process” is provided within the report considered by the Area Committee.
Community Councils made their voices heard
Saltburn and Westwood Community Council (SWCC) challenged the consultation and called for full consideration of all the options.
Chairwoman Donna Smith said: “We are not necessarily opposed to the sale. But we don’t think a full and proper consultation was done.
“I think Highland Council had made up their minds they wanted to sell.”
Donna claimed little effort was put into making sure people understood that only the interest would be available to spend.
“We don’t get a big bucket of £2.5 million. Annually, Invergordon might get £130,000 to £140,000.
“If this goes ahead we will be asking the council to set up a new board to oversee that fund which has to include members of the community.”
She added that SWCC, Invergordon Development Trust and Invergordon Community Council had submitted responses concerning the consultation.
She said: “The three big key bodies in the town all said, let’s do a proper consultation and then see what the result is.
“It’s a significant part of the town’s history. Let’s not just get rid of it without thinking it through properly.”
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