Newport Castle - Art at a high price?

I feel I have to apologise to our evening paper (that seems to come out in the mornings these days!) I have been calling it a 'rag' and not buying it as it contains no 'real' news and bemoaning the days when it was a broad sheet .....but that seems to have changed, unless I am more mellow!

There are some good factual/historical articles in there about this City and the valleys and I pick up on a lot of local issues via the letters that are sent in.

Last night I was reading about Newport castle. All I know about Newport castle is that it is a 14th century, Grade 2 listed building, originally constructed to guard the river crossing and is now a ruin .....but there is more! In 1796 JMW Turner painted the castle in his very recognisable style, and that painting is currently in the British Museum in London but not actually on display.

Newport East AM John Griffiths has written to the museum asking for the release of the painting on loan to Newport Art Gallery. It seems that the gallery has only a copy of the painting by an unknown artist. Wouldn't it be super to have the original on display in Newport in a gallery not far from the castle itself ? Mr. Griffiths action was picked up in the Letters section by a reader who argued that the additional security and conservation measures required by the British Museum will not come cheap and is suggesting that the Assembly donate some money to defray the cost of display. All this discussion going on and I didn't even know there was a Turner of Newport castle in existence!

It seems that a spokeswoman for the British Museum, who have been in possession of the watercolour since 1910, has said the request is under consideration and that the painting has been out on loan to Wales in the past to Llandudno and Swansea when they have held Turner exhibitions, but never to Newport.

This is obviously a debate that is going to roll on, and one I shall be following. Thank goodness I bought this local paper or I would not have known a thing about all this. I must be more respectful to the 'nightly' in future!