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Galleries hoping to raise £100m for Titian paintings

28/08/2008

Two galleries gave been offered to opportunity to buy a pair of paintings by the Italian Renaissance artist Titian for £100 million.

The Duke of Sutherland has offered to sell the works to the National Galleries of Scotland and the National Gallery in London for £50 million a piece.

The Duke has set a deadline of New Year's Eve for the galleries to raise the money to buy Diana and Actaeon, with Diana and Callisto being offered for sale in four years' time.

The paintings are said to be worth £300 million on the open market, and the chancellor of the exchequer Alistair Darling has been urged to find the money for the famous pieces.

Reports claim culture secretary Andy Burnham has asked the Treasury for an emergency grant of £10 to £20 million to add to a National Heritage Memorial Fund and private donations.

The paintings were part of a collection created for King Philip II of Spain between 1556 and 1559.

The collection also includes three paintings by Raphael, a Rembrandt, a Van Dyck, a Tintoretto and two more Titians.