Question

To ask His Majesty's Government how much the National Gallery raised in image fees from their image licensing department in 2021–22 and 2022–23; and what costs that were directly applicable to the sale of image licenses were incurred.

The National Gallery operates independently, at arm’s length, from HM Government. The Government does not collect financial data of this kind from its public bodies in-year, so the figures below do not cover the whole period requested, but rather constitute an incomplete snapshot of trading activity over two post-pandemic years of recovery.

Over the period concerned, which only extends to the first half of 2022/23, The National Gallery raised £180,000 through imaging licensing and incurred costs of £211,000 in relation to image licensing.

National museums provide free entry to their permanent collections as a condition of their annual Grant-in-Aid from the Government. They also raise commercial revenue to expand their public programmes and reach wider audiences, of which the Government is highly supportive. The National Gallery’s collection is accessible in person at Trafalgar Square, by people across the country (and internationally) in the form of loans and partnerships, and online. The entire collection – over 2,500 paintings telling a comprehensive story of European painting – can be enjoyed online, with images available for download free of charge.