An Exclusive Look At The New Goodwood Art Foundation

Lucinda Baring meets the Duke of Richmond as he launches what he hopes will become the world’s greatest art foundation in the grounds at Goodwood House.

Inside The Goodwood Art Foundation

George Stubbs, The Charlton Hunt, 1759, Courtesy of the Goodwood Estate

‘Come with me.’ I am sitting in the Duke of Richmond’s private study, a charming little antechamber to the library, reached through a concealed door in the bookshelves. His Grace picks up a small painting and together we go through a series of doors until we reach the grand entrance hall of Goodwood House. He holds up the painting: ‘You see that?’ In his hands is an oil of a hound that mirrors exactly one in the vast George Stubbs painting – one of three in the Duke’s collection – hanging above the double mahogany doors.

A study made by Stubbs when he was staying at Goodwood House in the 1800s (commissioned by the third Duke of Richmond to paint his horses), the painting had recently come up for sale in the US and the current Duke is delighted to have brought it home. This Stubbs joins one of the most significant private art collections in the country – comprising paintings by Canaletto (depicting Richmond House in London), Reynolds, Romney and Van Dyck; porcelain; and tapestries gifted by Louis XV. ‘The house is very Grand Tour. Not really the right feel for my niche collection of post-war German photography,’ His Grace says with a laugh. Any spare resource goes to buying pieces important to the collection. ‘It’s amazing when you look at Chatsworth and families who have bought Freuds and pictures that now hold great value. But I’m not buying Bacons because they just wouldn’t fit here.’

The Duke is a considered and hospitable custodian of the estate that has been in his family for 300 years (given, along with the title, by King Charles II to his illegitimate son, the first Duke of Richmond and Lennox), striving to make it self-sustaining and welcoming over a million visitors to its 11,000 acres every year. Building on a sporting legacy dating back to Goodwood’s first public race meeting in 1802, His Grace launched the Festival of Speed in 1993 and Goodwood Revival in 1998, two of Britain’s biggest car events outside Formula One. ‘It’s very levelling,’ he says. ‘Whether it’s a shared passion for horses or cars, everyone rubs shoulders.’

Canaletto, Whitehall and the Prive Garden from Richmond House. Courtesy of the Goodwood Estate

Now the Duke is launching the Goodwood Art Foundation, a not-for-profit set across 70 acres of the estate integrating contemporary art, the natural environment and education. With a team that includes international curator (and former director of collections in British art at Tate) Ann Gallagher, renowned landscape designer Dan Pearson, and leading cultural educator Sally Bacon (all OBEs) – and with Rachel Whiteread confirmed as the first headline exhibitor – the Duke’s ambition is to create the greatest art foundation in the world.

‘His Grace doesn’t do anything by halves,’ foundation director Richard Grindy says as he shows me around. ‘If you look at what he did with Festival of Speed and Revival, his attitude is, “If we’re going to do it, we may as well aim to be the very best”.’ The site encompasses what was originally the Cass Sculpture Foundation, launched by Wilfred and Jeanette Cass in 1992; when Wilfred died in 2022, the land came back to the estate. ‘We took Wilfred’s blueprint – about 20 acres with two lovely galleries – and asked: “how can we really set it on fire?”’ says His Grace.

The two galleries have been restored – by their original designers, Studio Downie Architects – and upgraded to museum-grade spaces; the bigger of the two will exhibit Whiteread’s rarely seen collection of photography, while New York artist Amie Siegel’s 2022 film installation Bloodlines, tracing the works of Stubbs, will be shown in the Pavilion Gallery. Whiteread’s sculptures and new works by, among others, Turner Prize-winning Veronica Ryan and the irreverent Rose Wylie are peppered throughout the dense, ancient woodland, cherry grove and gardens, where thousands of trees and bulbs have been planted by Pearson to create 24 seasonal moments throughout the year.

Chosen by His Grace (or, to be exact, his Duchess) for his naturalistic style, Pearson’s planting has been masterminded in tandem with Gallagher’s curation. ‘The selection of work for the first season is by artists who have an affinity with the environment or an interest in Goodwood’s history,’ Gallagher says. ‘Each artwork is sited so that it is encountered by chance, to enhance rather than disrupt the enjoyment of exploring the varied natural environment. As the landscape changes over seasons, so the selection of art will expand and change.’
In a woodland glade rises Hélio Oiticica’s monumental, labyrinthine Magic Square #3, the late Brazilian sculptor’s first Magic Square to be constructed in Europe. ‘Everyone goes, “Wow” because no one’s ever seen one,’ says His Grace.

Hélio Oiticica, Invenção da cor, Penetrável Magic Square #5, De Luxe, 1978 | Photo by Carol Lopes

Yet of the foundation’s three pillars, it is education that most drives the Duke – a legacy he inherited from his father, the tenth Duke, who
established an education programme at Goodwood in the 70s. ‘My father was ahead of his time. My parents realised how important it was to share Goodwood with the community, what it can contribute locally and nationally.’

His Grace hopes the Goodwood Art Foundation will take what his father did – inviting 4,000 children a year to the estate to connect with the rural landscape and foster an understanding of where their food comes from – and create something much bigger. ‘We are trying to make it really meaningful for the people who need it most,’ he says. ‘We want to make it as easy as possible for those schools, so the foundation will provide the transport, a cost that often prohibits schools from taking trips.’ Bacon’s programme, launching in September, will identify children who have been excluded from mainstream education. ‘With art being de-prioritised in the curriculum, we can make a real difference,’ His Grace adds. ‘I had a miserable time at school, but the things I am interested in now are the same things that caught my attention when I was ten. All it took was a couple of inspiring masters to ignite something.’

Alongside the visual art, there is also a natural amphitheatre surrounded by trees and framed by a historic flint wall where the foundation will host outdoor performances, classical album playbacks, theatre. The season kicks off with a performance by Nabihah Iqbal, musician and radio DJ who has composed music for the Turner Prize and collaborated with Wolfgang Tillmans at Tate Modern. ‘We want people to engage in art in the widest sense by including all mediums and creating a touchpoint for everyone,’ says Grindy.

The Pavilion, Studio Downie Architects | Photo by Tom Baigent

A new oak and glass café by Studio Downie is built into the landscape, designed to feel as if you are floating amid the woodland canopy, a corridor of trees leading the eye across wildflower meadows to the sea. Harry Cartwright, formerly of The Mulberry in Falmouth, will serve small plates made with ingredients from the estate’s organic farm; on certain evenings, the space will host supper clubs and guest chefs. It seems more akin to a high-end restaurant but Grindy is adamant. ‘Like the rest of the foundation, the remit was that it needs to be accessible to all.’

This ancient woodland is where His Grace launched Nucleus ten years ago, an invitation- only ‘automotive Davos’ held under the Chatham House Rule. ‘We mix dyed-in-the wool car guys and tech bros, and once they had a huge bust-up,’ he says. Has Elon attended? ‘Not Elon, no. But lots of SpaceX guys. They are all about 19 and have been terrific.’ In future, the foundation will convene its own thought leadership symposiums centred on contemporary art, landscape and education.

‘This is not “art in the park”,’ says His Grace. ‘We want people to visit from all over the world and for the foundation to become a really important addition to the contemporary art landscape while fostering mental and physical wellbeing, creativity and learning for people of all backgrounds. We’ve been reasonably successful at convening people to have a great time. When you create a shared experience that everyone is enjoying, you can do some serious stuff together.’

The Goodwood Art Foundation opens 31 May. goodwoodartfoundation.org