Unknown English artist, John Donne (1572-1631), c.1595. © Estate of Lord Lothian
The National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) has come up with £750,000 to help the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) acquire an important portrait of Elizabethan poet John Donne.
The famous portrait from about 1595 is one of the earliest English author portraits and was bequeathed to an ancestor of its current owner in Donne’s will. The NHMF award goes into a pot that already contains £200,000 from the Art Fund, which has spearheaded the campaign to purchase the portrait for the NPG. The Gallery is now looking for a further £116,000 to ensure the painting is kept on public display.
“I am delighted that a really substantial grant has been offered by the National Heritage Memorial Fund,” said Sandy Nairne, Director of the NPG, “which together with the contribution from the Art Fund, the help of the Executors of Lord Lothian’s estate and the extraordinary response of the public, means that we are a really significant way towards reaching our target.”
The National Portrait Gallery, where Donne will hopefully soon be resident. © Andrew Putler
The executors of Lord Lothian’s estate, through Sotheby’s, have agreed to reduce the asking price from £2.36m to £2m to facilitate the purchase. After tax concessions, that means the gallery needs to raise £1.4m.
“This brooding, sensual portrait of a young man in love magnificently echoes Donne’s own love poems,” said David Barrie, Director of the Art Fund.
“The Art Fund kick-started the campaign to save the portrait of John Donne in January,” he added. “Three months on, we’re delighted the NHMF has put its money on the table. The Art Fund is now calling on donors to come forward and ensure this painting takes its rightful place in the National Portrait Gallery.”
Members of the public have already given gifts totalling £40,000 – a remarkable response. Together with other pledges the total sum raised is £1,283,943 – leaving £116,057 outstanding. It will need to be obtained by June 2006 to secure the painting.
Detail of the portrait. © Estate of Lord Lothian
“John Donne is one of this nation’s greatest poets,” said Stephen Johnson, Head of the NHMF, “and his 16th century poems continue to dazzle us in the 21st century.”
“Although his words are famous, few people know what he looked like in real life,” he continued. “This NHMF grant will help the National Portrait Gallery to acquire this remarkable painting of Donne and display it alongside portraits of his literary contemporaries and other national favourites such as Shakespeare and Jonson for many future generations to enjoy.”
The portrait is currently on show in the NPG’s Searching for Shakespeare exhibition and will stay there until May 29 2006. If the Gallery is then able to buy the portrait, it will undergo conservation assessment and go on permanent public display.
Donations to the NPG John Donne Appeal can be made online at www.npg.org.uk/johndonne or by calling Charlotte Savery on 020 7312 24444.
