Couper Collection facts for kids
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The Couper Collection was a registered charity, which for many years exhibited its art in a floating gallery on converted barges, moored on the banks of the Thames in Battersea, London. It exhibited artworks and installations by artist Max Couper, as well as hosting exhibitions and events by other artists. The Collection began in 1979 as a base for a large sculpture in Battersea Park. In 1999 it was launched as a charity by then UK Home Secretary Jack Straw MP. The Collection no longer exists.
Works
Major works by the Couper Collection included:
- The Fleeting Opera with the Royal Opera House and Judi Dench (2000)
- Couper's exhibition at The Museum of Contemporary Art (MuHKA), Antwerp (1996)
- Couper's exhibition at the Sprengel Museum, Hanover (1997)
- Couper's exhibition at the Lehmbruck Museum of sculpture, Duisburg (1997)
The Couper Collection also hosted a Museum of First Art containing children's artworks.
Challenged mooring rights & closure
In 2006, the Couper Collection was involved a dispute with Hutchison Whampoa and the Port of London Authority regarding a land claim at Albion Riverside and Foster and Partners's plans to remove the charity's barges. Foster's lawyers, Farrer & Co, put in objections to the UK Land Registry. Max Couper claimed "ancient mooring rights", but in 2013 Justice Arnold ruled that the barges were illegally moored and should be removed, and Hutchison Whampoa sought to enforce the ruling with a further High Court order to "dispose of or destroy" the gallery. The PLA offered alternative mooring sites, which Couper declined.
The gallery no longer exists, although in 2020 the website was still operational. The charity was removed from the Charity Commission's register in 2018.
The litigation was long, and complex. Proceedings were first issued in 2006. In 2017 Justice Arnold granted an extended civil restraint order against Max and Magdalena Couper. The final judgement in the litigation was later in 2017, when Couper attempted to sue his solicitors and counsel in the earlier proceedings.
The vessels have been sold. In 2020 the boats were moored in Rotherhithe.
