Catalogue description Records of the Advisory Council on the Export of Works of Art and the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art

Control of the export of works of art was introduced as a wartime measure under the Import, Export and Customs Powers (Defence) Act 1939 and the Defence (Finance) Regulations 1939. It was exercised by the Export Licensing Department and the Board of Trade. Applications for licences to export were dealt with by the Board of Trade, on the advice of a representative of the appropriate museum or gallery.

In 1949 the first Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art was set up under Treasury chairmanship. Other members came from the Board of Trade, the Foreign Office, the museum or gallery opposing the grant of the licence, and two (later three) other museums to provide an independent view point. It considered cases in which an appeal had been made against refusal of a licence. From 1950 it considered also all cases in which refusal was recommended or another opinion was sought by the expert.

In 1950 the Chancellor of the Exchequer appointed a Committee (the Waverley Committee) to review these arrangements. Its report was presented in 1952 and most of it recommendations implemented.

The Reviewing Committee was reconstituted in December 1952. It consisted of seven permanent members: an independent chairman and three independent members, and non-voting "assessors" from the Treasury, the Board of Trade and the Foreign Office. Three representatives of museums and galleries without a direct interest in cases to be considered were co-opted for each meeting. The Committee's terms of reference were:

• to advise on the principles which should govern the control of the export of works of art and antiques under the Import, Export and Customs Powers (Defence) Act 1939;
• to consider all cases where refusal of an export licence for a work of art or antique is suggested on grounds of national importance;
• to advise in cases where a special Exchequer grant is needed towards the purchase of an object that would otherwise be exported;
• to supervise the operation of the export control system generally.

An Advisory Council was also set up in December 1952, to oversee the general working of export control arrangements. It contained representatives of museums and galleries, the antiques trade, the government departments involved in the Reviewing Committee, and other interested bodies. It was chaired by the chairman of the Reviewing Committee.

In 1962 a Committee of Enquiry into the Sale of Works of Art by Public Bodies was established by augmenting the Reviewing Committee with four members appointed by the chief secretary to the Treasury. Its purpose was "to consider the position as regards the sale of works of art and antiques of national importance owned by public and semi-public bodies and to advise whether any and if so what changes might be desirable in the principles and procedure governing the export of such objects." Its report was presented in 1964.

In 1965 sponsorship of the Reviewing Committee and the Advisory Council passed from the Treasury to the Department of Education and Science, and then in 1979 to the Office of Arts and Libraries.