A masterpiece of timing (original) (raw)

There was less than 24 hours to go and the packing cases were being readied for shipment when the Botticelli masterpiece was at last bought for the nation. The £15m Renaissance painting, unveiled to the public in Scotland yesterday for the first time in 40 years, came within a brushstroke of being sold to the United States.

After hanging for more than a century in a private collection, shown publicly on no more than a handful of occasions, The Virgin Adoring the Sleeping Christ Child seemed destined for the big-money galleries of America. Its owner, the Earl of Wemyss and March, was about to sell to Kimbell art museum in Fort Worth, Texas.

Timothy Clifford, director of the National Galleries of Scotland, was desperate to buy the masterpiece. Last Tuesday he managed to secure a national lottery heritage fund grant of £7.6m: the body which has been accused of neglecting the nation's great works of art provided one of its largest grants ever.

But on Wednesday afternoon Mr Clifford was worried. If he did not meet the asking price by Friday evening the painting would be sold to Texas. He had been trying to raise the funds for two-and-a-half weeks, but still had a long way to go and little time to do it.

In London, the director and chairman of the trustees of the Kimbell were waiting. They had flown over from Texas the minute they heard of the Scottish interest. "They behaved impeccably, but they were desperate for us to fail," said Mr Clifford.

At the last minute, his persistent petitioning paid off. On Thursday afternoon the remaining money from a collection of sources finally came through, with only 24 hours to deadline.

Yesterday, as the Scottish first minister, Donald Dewar, unveiled the painting in Edinburgh, Mr Clifford could hardly contain his delight.

"This acquisition at a stroke transforms our collection of Florentine Renaissance painting. Who would have guessed that the National Galleries of Scotland would ever possess a genuine Botticelli?" he said.

Botticelli's masterpiece, painted at around 1485-1495 when he was at the height of his powers, has long been considered the most important painting in a private British collection. It has hung on the walls of Gosford House in East Lothian since it was bought by an ancestor of Lord Neidpath, the present earl, in 1859. Lord Elcho, later the 10th Earl of Wemyss and March, paid £200 for the painting.

The 4ft high canvas was last shown in 1957, when it was believed to be merely a "workshop" painting. Now the Florentine Madonna so symptomatic of the Italian Renaissance will go on permanent display and will tour round Scotland.

"I'm assured that it is a painting of tremendous quality," said Mr Dewar. "I am pleased that the lady is going to be going on her travels throughout Scotland - that's no bad thing. National jewels should be seen in other parts of the country."

After tax and private treaty sale agreements, the National Galleries of Scotland paid £10.25m for the autographed painting. Alongside the lottery money and the galleries' own funds, money came from the Scottish executive, the National Arts Collection fund, banks and private individuals.

"This was an outstanding opportunity," said Angus Grossart, chairman of the fund's Scottish committee. "As this is a work of international importance, it is a very significant painting that will become much loved and much seen by the people of Scotland."

Although there is another Botticelli workshop painting in Glasgow, the lyrical masterpiece, which has been authenticated by experts from Florence's Uffizi gallery, will be the first autographed work in a Scottish gallery. Plans are mooted to show the two works, on occasion, side by side.

The painting of the Madonna, kneeling as she gazes on a sleeping Christ, is considered to be one of the greatest works of Sandro Botticelli (1444-1510), the most influential painter of his day. The Kimbell is one of America's wealthiest galleries and curators there were almost as keen to hang the painting alongside their Rubens and Rembrandt as Mr Clifford was to keep it in Scotland.

"I am absolutely delighted," said Mr Clifford. "These things always tend to be a little last minute, but we did cut it rather fine."