I have made a discovery that has shaken me to my tasteful core: museums have gift shops. One walks through centuries of human achievement and exits, inexplicably, through a room selling tea towels.
At first I was appalled. Then I was thoughtful. Then I was, I confess, inspired.
A Reluctant Conversion
For if the great institutions can sell a postcard of a masterpiece, why should we not sell a print of a masterpiece we generated this morning from a photograph of a damp wall? The logic is identical. The wall, if anything, is more honest.
I have therefore authorised the Institute to offer its works as objects you may purchase and place in your home, where they will silently judge your other belongings.
What Is Now Available
- Digital downloads, for those who like their art weightless and their wallets only mildly lighter.
- Prints, boards, and tiles, for those who require evidence on a wall.
- A certificate of provenance, which is the tea towel of the soul.
A Personal Note
I want to be clear that I have not "sold out." I have merely "expanded access," which is what selling out is called once you have a scarf and a mission statement. The work remains pure. The shop is simply where the purity is invoiced.
Nigel Ponceby-Smythe, Director-General and, now, Head of Retail