Future of Baines paintings still hangs in the balance

The future of four valuable paintings by English artist and explorer Thomas Baines that have been in the possession of the Albany Museum for over 50 years, still hangs in the balance.

Despite negotiations that kicked off some four years ago, the Makhanda-based Albany Museum and Nedbank — which is the owner of the paintings — have been unable to reach agreement on the terms of the loan of the four paintings.

The artworks — each of which depict the then Church of St George in Makhanda, from different angles — have since the 1970s been based at the museum as a result of a verbal “legacy arrangement” with the then Eastern Province Guardian Loan & Investment company and Syfrets.

These two companies merged into the Nedbank Group in 2003.

In about 2018, Nedbank sought to formalise a new loan agreement including that the loan period be changed from “indefinite” to just five years — something the museum objected to.

Nedbank also included a stipulation that it would be entitled to review or terminate the loan “if the terms of the agreement had not been met or for reasons regarding alignment with particular Nedbank Group Strategy”.

After failing to reach agreement, Nedbank earlier this year issued a notice of termination of the existing “legacy” agreement and indicated it intended to retrieve the paintings at the conclusion of the National Arts Festival in Makhanda in July.

Both Nedbank and the museum indicated to the Dispatch in May that they hoped for a breakthrough in sensitive ongoing negotiations.

But, Albany Museum director Manzi Vabaza this week told the Dispatch in a single-line statement that to date nothing had been finalised.

Nedbank’s head of communications, Anneleigh Vallie, in May said that Nedbank would recall the paintings for restoration and reframing after the National Arts Festival had run its course in July.

But, she said this week that Nedbank had not yet recalled the artworks.

“Nedbank remains committed to entering into a standard artworks-on-loan agreement with the Albany Museum.

“Once we have finalised an agreement with the museum we will collect the artworks for the restoration process to commence.”

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