THE present exhibition of many of the less familiar works of Island artist Edmund Blampied at the Jersey Museum is significant not only because it demonstrates the great man’s immense versatility but also because it is yet another demonstration of the incredible depth and richness of Jersey culture.

Anyone viewing the range of works on display can hardly fail to be impressed by the talent that they show. Equally, they are a reminder that, past and present, these few square miles have consistently produced artists of great quality.

The names of the past to conjure with include John St Helier Lander, Ouless, Monamy, Arbuthnot and, at least through close association, Millais. Accomplished contemporary artists, meanwhile, are too numerous to mention, but their output in Island galleries and at exhibitions attest to the tremendous range of skills and styles that have been mastered by home-grown talent.

Visual art, of course, is only one element of our cultural birthright, but the richness extends into many other areas. But while this is widely acknowledged, there is a clear and all too present danger that insufficient resources are being allocated to the preservation and display of the material elements of our heritage.

At one level, items on show at our museums are only the tip of an iceberg of treasures, many others being kept in storage. At a far more alarming level, the recent announcement that Hamptonne, our countryside museum, will not open this year and the continuing threat faced by the Maritime Museum and the Occupation Tapestry Gallery are evidence of the financial pressures weighing down the custodians of our insular treasures.

In spite of the benefits to be derived from cultural attractions that boost tourism and the necessity of the drive to project the Island’s special personality, current economic difficulties obviously play a compelling role in choking off funds for heritage. However, as the recession recedes and deficits are banished, it is vital that we look again at levels of support for the organisations that make the past live in the present.

To return to Blampied, his lush illustrations, his comic etchings and his starker record of life in the Jersey countryside are reminders that if funds can in future be found for what we should perhaps call an Island gallery rather than a national gallery, we should have no trouble in filling it with great art.