England's esteemed Victoria and Albert Museum is considering leasing out paintings that are not on display in order to generate money.
The idea has been floated by museum director Mark Jones, who told The Art Newspaper that he will put the proposal to the V&A's trustees next year.
The London museum has 2,000 oil paintings, but only enough space to show 170 at a time. A further 180 pictures are loaned out to other galleries.
The V&A has the third largest collection of oil paintings in England and Jones said it is wrong to keep them in storage.
"I don't feel it is defensible to hold objects in store, like paintings, which are intended for display," he told the monthly publication, which covers the visual arts around the world.
The paintings are stored in a separate warehouse and can be seen by appointment.
Under the plan, companies or individuals would be allowed to lease the paintings but would have to agree to stringent environmental and security conditions as well as insurance. The money raised would be used for acquisitions.
Jones said the lease could last several years, on a renewable basis.
There are plans to increase space for oil painting within the gallery — expanding the current space into the adjacent textile galleries. The textiles are to be moved to a new building on the V&A grounds but that is still many years away.
The Victoria and Albert Museum first opened in 1852, specializing in applied and decorative arts. It possesses some four million pieces of art including jewelry, weapons, musical instruments, ceramics and photography.
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