§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about recent acquisitions by the National Galleries of Scotland.
§ Mr. MaclayThe Trustees for the National Galleries of Scotland recently learned that Mr. Christopher Loyd was willing Ito sell three panels by Gerard David, an early Flemish painter, representing scenes from the life of St. Nicholas. The early Netherlandish section is by far the weakest part of the Scottish national collection and opportunities of strengthening it are very rare; indeed, it is unlikely that the Trustees will ever have another chance of acquiring from a British collection a work of the high quality of these panels. The Trustees therefore decided to seek Exchequer help towards the purchase.
The price of the panels is £52,000. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has agreed, subject to the approval of Parliament, to make an Exchequer Grant of £30,000 towards this sum. The National Art Collections Fund have generously offered to contribute £5,000 and the remainder will he contributed by the Trustees from their own resources. A supplementary estimate will be laid before the House in the summer and in The meantime the money will be advanced from the Civil Contingencies Fund.