§ Mr. KnapmanTo ask the Minister for the Arts if there have been any items accepted in lieu of tax or allocated since he last made an announcement on the subject to the House.
§ Mr. LuceSince my announcement on 22 January at column536, I am pleased to announce that four offers of items have been accepted in lieu of tax; a collection of 20 modern paintings, a collection of Anglo-Saxon and medieval coins, a painting by Constable and an 18th century harpsichord. In accordance with the condition on which it was offered the coin collection will be allocated to the Fitzwilliam museum, Cambridge. It satisfied £418,429.20 tax and followed the precedent set by the acceptance of Picasso's "Weeping Woman" in that the Fitzwilliam agreed to pay the owner the difference (£108,128.80) between that tax liability to be satisfied and the special price of £526,558. The collection of modern paintings satisfied £82,742 tax and will be allocated to the Abbot Hall art gallery, Cumbria. No decision on allocation has yet been taken regarding Constable's "Farm Cart with Horse in Harness" or the harpsichord which satisfied £50,025 and £25,432.79 tax respectively. These items will be advertised to institutions in the usual way.
Finally, I have decided that Cezanne's "Allée à Chantilly", accepted in lieu of tax in 1988–89, should be allocated to the National gallery.