Page - 225 - in Der Arkadenhof der Universität Wien und die Tradition der Gelehrtenmemoria in Europa

These original case studies are derived from an enquiry undertaken during a short period I spent as a Researcher in Residence at the RP from October 2013 to January 2014, a position funded by Creativeworks London.2 RP’s man- date is to encourage the appreciation, study and practice of the art of portraiture.3 The strategy for furthering this aim includes facilitating the commissioning of portraits, which is handled by its in-house commissioning service. Analysis of the activities of the commissioning service be- tween 2000 and 2012 formed the focus of the Creativeworks research residency. Today, there are 57 artist members belonging to the Royal So- ciety of Portrait Painters, many of whom receive commissions through the commissioning ser- vice. The RP applied to the Researcher in Resi- dence scheme primarily in order to enquire into the current state of the market for portrait com- missions and to inform its strategic marketing plan, and secondly to provide a basis for think- ing about how to secure a sustainable future for the formally commissioned painted portrait in an age of ubiquitous born-digital imagery.4 The research design included an analysis of ten years’ invoices, a focus group with RP art- ists and a series of seven in depth interviews with private and organisational commissioners. The examination of invoicing records showed that while individual, private commissions consti- tute the basis of roughly half of RP’s commis- sions, within the remainder, the education sector is most significant source. Therefore, academic commissions formed the focus of the qualitative enquiry. The research sought to understand mo- tivations for commissioning within academia; the composition of the purchasing cell respon- sible for initiating, developing and completing academic portrait commissions; and how por- traits were used and displayed by academic in- stitutions, once delivered into their care. The research demonstrated that even within a per- iod dominated by new media, and born-digit- al images, the painted portrait remains an ob- ject of unique cultural significance to the commissioning academic institution, a signifi- cance which underwrites the financial invest- ment involved in its production.5 However, it was also found that portraits are made, used and displayed in ways that are driven by specific in- stitutional needs and priorities. British universities and colleges both ancient and modern are holders of highly significant collections of artworks.6 New commissions for Contemporary portrait Commissioning in British Universities 225 4 Primary research conducted with commissioners demonstrated that the experience of commissioning and sitting for a portrait can be very pleasurable and affirming. The experience of forming a relationship with the artist is often considered to be as important and valuable a part of the commission as the production of the portrait itself. Yet pri- mary research also indicated that the commissioning of a portrait is a process fraught with risk for the commissioner, the sitter and the artist. Should the relationship be unproductive, communication misfire and the resulting object disappoint, the outcome can be experienced as highly traumatic by all those involved. In many respects, the risks involved are balanced by the personal confidence of artists, sitters and commissioners, whose personal achievements ensure that they encounter one another within the commission as equals. 5 The significance of the portrait object perhaps makes it inevitable that commissioning is a process fraught with risk. The commissioning service at the RP is therefore highly valued by both artists and commissioners and sitters for the security it brings to the process of portrait commissioning. The RP brand offers confidence to commissioners and sitters that the outcome of the project will be of a high quality. RP membership offers artists the security of knowing a commission will be well managed through to completion. There is also the added benefit for both parties of the opportunity of seeing the work hung during the Annual Exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London. RP’s brand va- lue for commissioners lies in the sense that its involvement in commissioning acts as a guarantee that potential risks will be ameliorated and the pleasures of commissioning maximised. 6 The Worldwide Database of University Museums & Collections lists 175 university museums and collections in the UK, yet the University of Hertfordshire art collection is not included in the list (neither is that of Darwin College). The somewhat low profile of such collections certainly within Britain has recently begun to be explored in a recently