Acquisitions are the life-blood of museums and galleries, whether through purchase, gift or bequest. But studying recent acquisition lists is a doleful experience; gifts and bequests are few and far between (in contrast to museums in, say, America or Germany); acquisitions spearheaded by the institutions themselves are often of a timid or only local appeal (important though this can be) and the accession of objects of wider significance has certainly diminished. Acquisition budgets are minimal or non-existent but there are now several very active grant-giving bodies. The Director of the Art Fund, Stephen Deuchar, commented at the Barber that 70 per cent of Art Fund disbursements go to the regions but commented on the sliding standard of written applications and the often unambitious level of the objects under consideration. But it is worth stressing that there are many curators in place who would be more motivated, their sights set higher, if administration was less onerous, resources greater and their pay more inducive.