RESTRICTIONS ON ARTISTS
SIE,—There•has recently been a good deal of discussion about the pos- sibility of London assuming the cultural leadership of Europe, and on the economic level it has been pointed out how considerable would be the financial benefits resulting from such a position. The issue is not, of course, a simple one, but so far as painting is concerned I believe we hold a strong hand. If we are to attract artists and buyers from the rest of the world, however, as Paris did for more than half a cen- tury, one self-evident preliminary is free access for painters and paint- ings. At the morn_ent we continue to surround ourselves with artificial barriers. The existing import restrictions, for instance, permit works of art to be brought into the country only on condition that they are not sold internally, and on condition that at the end of six months they are returned to their country of origin. This means, since dealers are not in the business primarily to make philanthropic gestures at a financial loss, not or:v that the public can but seldom see work from abroad, but that old masters are leaving the country without hope of replace- ment, that it becomes almcst impossible to arrange reciprocal exhibitions of contemporary work except under the auspices of Governments, and that painters of other nations look upon London as a place to be avoided. At a time, that is to say, when we should be aiding by every possible means the expansion of the School of London and the greater spread of its reputation, we are in fact, for the sake of short-term objectives, cutting off our nose to spite our face.—Yours, &c.,
39 Thurloe Square, South Kensington, S.W. 7. M. H. IVIIDDLETON.
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