Museum for the middle-brows
Michael Hall talks to Sir Peter Moores about the ideals that lie behind his Creation of Compton Verney, which he describes as one of the most ‘artistically accessible collections in the country’.
Michael Hall, Sunday, 29th June 2008
Compton Verney is only one part, albeit a very important part, of the workings of the Peter Moores Foundation, set up to dispense money for Sir Peter’s charitable interests as long ago as 1964. The Foundation’s work ranges from opera recordings in English (it is thanks to Sir Peter that we have Reginald Goodall’s classic Ring Cycle on disc) to the establishment of a transatlantic slave-trade gallery at the Merseyside Maritime Museum in Liverpool, fostering discussion of the subject at a time (some 20 years ago) when it was still virtually taboo among both white and black people.
When I ask what – if anything – is the idea that links Compton Verney to these other enterprises, Sir Peter is unhesitating: ‘I want to open doors for people – freeing the arts and scholarship from high-browism and exclusivity. I’m not a highbrow, I’m a middlebrow, and I’m aiming Compton Verney at middle-brows. I didn’t want a museum for scholars. It’s for people who have a car and once the kids are out of the house decide to go for a drive or hop on a coach to somewhere they can get a nice lunch, in nice grounds, and be back in time for when the kids get home from school.’ He slaps his leg in emphasis: ‘at Compton Verney we have one of the most artistically accessible museums in the country’.
For information on visiting Compton Verney, telephone +44 (0) 1926 645500 or go to www.comptonverney.org.uk
The current exhibitions at Compton Verney are ‘Portraits from Chequers: Kings, Queens and Revolution-aries’ (to 14 December) and ‘The Fabric of Myth’ (to 7 September).
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