Bowes Museum acquires rare Bouts
August 8 2016
Picture: Guardian
The Bowes Museum has acquired a rare 15th Century picture by Dieric Bouts the Elder and his workshop for £2.3m. The picture, St Luke Drawing the Virgin and Child (detail above), was secured with a generous grant of £1.99m from the Heritage Lottery Fund. It had been threatened with a sale overseas, and happily the government's export licence scheme worked well. More here, and here.
Amidst all the talk of gloom for Britain's regional museums, it's really inspiring to see an institution like the Bowes Museum achieving so much. This latest acquisition comes on top of their recent £2m endowment fund appeal, and the acquisition through the AIL scheme of Van Dyck's 'Portrait of Olivia Porter'. Great credit is due, I think, to the Bowes' energetic and creative director, Adrian Jenkins.
