Art collections including masterpiece works by Francis Bacon, Monet, Harry Clarke, Sean Scully and Degas at the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin have a combined value of €441m.
That is according to new tender documentation by Dublin City Council which is seeking tenders from operators to provide 'Fine Art' insurance for the artworks at the Hugh Lane gallery.
The tender estimates that it will cost the Council a maximum of €400,000 to provide Fine Art insurance for the gallery’s art works over a two year period.
The tender states that there have been no claims on its insurance policy over the past five years.
The documentation states that the Hugh Lane Gallery Collection is valued at €231.08m and includes over 2,100 artworks comprising paintings, drawings and sculptures.
The tender states that the collection also includes the Francis Bacon Studio and archive; certain works stored in Hugh Lane Gallery’s approved off-site fine art storage facilities; loans to various other Dublin City Council sites; long terms loans to the gallery valued at €12m; loans to other approved venues and allows for future acquisitions up to combined value of €5m.
In addition, the tender states that the Sir Hugh Lane Bequest 1917 must be insured for a separate sum of £158.97m (€185.57m).
The Sir Hugh Lane Bequest 1917 is subject to a partnership agreement with the National Gallery in London and allows the public in both Ireland and the UK to continue enjoy the works.
The bequest is made up of 39 paintings and includes works by Renoir, Manet, Monet, Morisot, Pissarro, Vuillard and Degas.
Art dealer, collector and gallery director, the Co Cork born Sir Hugh Lane was aged only 39 when he died on board HMS Lusitania which sunk off the County Cork coastwith the loss of 1,198 lives after being torpedoed by a German u-boat in 1915 during World War 1.
The tender states that the Hugh Lane Gallery "has developed its own unique identity within the international art world" and the 1988 donation of the studio of one of the 20th century’s greatest artists, Francis Bacon "has added to the reputation of the Hugh Lane and the studio is a major attraction for art lovers and Bacon scholars alike".
The gallery has in place 24 hour manned security to guard the collections along with a string of other security measures.
The gallery’s fine art insurance requirements include the basic annual insurance of the collection, as well as any exceptional cover that may arise during the lifetime of the framework.
The initial Fine Arts Insurance services contract is from June 1st next to May 31st 2026.
The closing date for receipt of tenders is April 24th.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
