§ Mr. Charles R. Morrisasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what decision the Standing Commission on Museums and Art Galleries has made in relation to the claims of provincial art galleries for consideration in the allocation of works of art acquired by the State under the provisions of the Finance Act 1956 from the Spencer Churchill estate.
§ Mr. MacDermotAgreement has been reached between the Government and the Executors of the estate of the late Captain Spencer-Churchill for the acceptance in part satisfaction of duty under Section 34 of the 1956 Finance Act of five paintings judged to be pre-eminent for their aesthetic merit or historical value. These are "Tanaquil" and "Marcia" by Beccafumi; "Portrait of a Notary in the Character of his Patron Saint" by Quentin Matsys; Portrait of Warren Hastings by Sir Joshua Reynolds; and the Artist's Own Portrait by Thomas Gainsborough. The cost to the National Land Fund after allowing for Estate Duty exemption is £150,000.
53WIn accordance with the advice of the Standing Commission on Museums and Galleries the two Beccafumi paintings will go to the National Gallery, the Quentin Matsys painting to the National Gallery of Scotland and the Warren Hastings portrait and the Gainsborough self-portrait to the National Portrait Gallery.
The fact that all these works have been allocated to national collections does not imply any unwillingness on the part of the Government or the Standing Commission to enable institutions other than national collections to benefit from the provisions of the 1956 Finance Act. In the present case the Standing Commission, having considered the matter very carefully, came to the conclusion that these particular paintings should most appropriately go to the national collections concerned.