Page - 227 - in Der Arkadenhof der Universität Wien und die Tradition der Gelehrtenmemoria in Europa

While the portrait was the first that Hert- fordshire has commissioned to memorialise one of its leading scholars, the University has been collecting fine art since its designation as a Poly- technic in 1959. As Chris McIntyre explained: The University acquired or inherited a number of artworks when it was originally established, and in its days as a polytechnic. Often, at the establishment of a new institution in those days, the provision of artworks was part of the establishment process and, typically, a college might get a Barbara Hepworth, a Reg Butler and a couple of Ben Nicholsons, as your starter for ten, as it were. There are now 450 pieces of work in our collection.10 Hertfordshire, in common with other pub- lic institutions formed and funded in the 1950s, benefited from the post-war period’s investment in modern art by British artists for public build- ings and new audiences. The Hertfordshire col- lection, which has been added to over the years, now forms a significant aspect of the institution’s identity and cultural capital. Policy determines that the collection is displayed in public areas of the campus, rather than private offices. The careful acquisition of objects forming the Uni- versity’s art collection also formed the platform and the precedent for the new commission of the painted portrait. Alongside cultural confidence, financial cap- ital also naturally supports the commissioning of the contemporary scholar’s monument. We’re in the top 500 international institutions now and doing well economically, with no risk of failing fi- nancially.11 It was a common theme among the interview sample (and indeed, within the few catalogues published on University portraits) that a com- missioned portrait is a signifier of robust fiscal health. The University-commissioned, scholar’s portrait can thus be straightforwardly regarded as an investment in an institution’s symbolic cap- ital resulting from a fiscal surplus. The University of Hertfordshire emphasis- es education for business and has done so since its inception. The purchasing cell for this com- mission consisted of the Board of the Univer- sity, which includes not only scholars, but also corporate leaders. If we were to propose something very challenging, it might satisfy academic staff and the bright young minds of the research constituency but it would not necessarily feel right for the board ...I didn’t want elements of iconography and obscure symbols, …something that fit with the approach we take to the collection which features international, post-war British and European artists. We need- ed someone who worked in a way that was clean and modern.12 The board devolved total responsibility for the project to the lead commissioner, Chris McIntyre, whose experience and expertise was judged sufficient to produce recommendations and to manage the commission as effectively, a personal project. He in turn remained very mindful of the Board’s needs and concerns and the nature of the collection the portrait would enter into. Within the wider University doubts were ex- pressed that a painted portrait was needed, a re- flection that portrait commissioning is not (yet) a tradition within the institution. There was an inevitable sense, even in a University of that size, why do we need to spend money on this? Isn’t a photograph good enough? 13 Why wouldn’t a photograph be absolute- ly ‘good enough’ – especially in a new, modern University with an excellent reputation for tech- nical expertise in fields ranging from aircraft en- gineering to new media? Eric Guthey and Brad Contemporary portrait Commissioning in British Universities 227 10 Interview with Chris McIntyre at the RP, 14 October 2013. 11 Interview with Chris McIntyre. 12 Interview with Chris McIntyre. 13 Interview with Chris McIntyre.