The Couper Collection is an internationally exhibited collection of artwork and installations by the British artist Max Couper, as well as a venue for: exhibitions and events by other artists; and youth art education projects.
Based in Hove, Sussex since 2022, the Couper Collection for many years exhibited its art in a floating gallery on converted barges, moored on the banks of the Thames in Battersea, London.
Between 2001 and 2003 the Collection was a Focus Site of the London String of Pearls Golden Jubilee Festival, Patron Prince Charles.
The Couper Collection Diamond Jubilee Bridge was launched in a ceremony during the sailby of The Queen and The Prince of Wales during the 2012 Thames Jubilee Pageant.
Major works by Max Couper and the Couper Collection include:
In 2006, the Couper Collection was involved a dispute with Hutchison Whampoa and the Port of London Authority regarding a land claim at Albion Riverside and Foster and Partners's plans to remove the charity's barges.[1] Foster's lawyers, Farrer & Co, put in objections to the UK Land Registry.[2] Max Couper claimed "ancient mooring rights", but in 2013 Justice Arnold ruled that the barges should be removed,[3] and Hutchison Whampoa sought to enforce the ruling with a further High Court order to "dispose of or destroy" the gallery. The PLA offered alternative mooring sites, which Couper declined.[1]
The litigation was long, and complex. Proceedings were first issued in 2006.[4] The final judgement in the litigation was later in 2017, when Couper attempted to sue his solicitors and counsel in the earlier proceedings.[5]
The vessels have been sold.[6]
The Collection was re-incorporated in 2020 as a not-for-profit Community Interest Company (CIC). Registered as The Couper Collection Sussex CIC, its current directors in 2023 are Tim French MBE, Max Couper and Magdalena Couper.