The remarkable man who made Art UK possible

Georges Seurat’s oil painting Bathers at Asnieres at The National Gallery, London. Photograph: Phil Crow/Alamy

I was pleased to see Art UK’s achievements mentioned in your article, but astonished that it only featured its new chair and not the remarkable man who made it all possible (‘We’ve scratched the surface’: mission to digitise UK public art reaches 1m entries, 23 February). I refer to Fred Hohler, who established the Public Catalogue Foundation, a charity the work of which is now online under its registered trademark – Art UK.

Hohler’s aim was inspired: to record every oil painting in every public collection in the UK. Having achieved that, he is now directing an even larger project with a similar aim, The Watercolour World, which is a charity under the patronage of the king and queen.
Prof Robin Simon
Editor, British Art Journal

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