Dieric Bouts the Elder (Haarlem c.1415 – Louvain 1475), St Luke Drawing the Virgin and Child, circa 1440-1475. Oil on canvas (transferred from panel in 1899), 1092 x 864 mm. Bowes Museum © National Trust

COUNTY DURHAM.- The Bowes Museum announced that it has secured funding from Art Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), and a number of private donors, totalling £2,290,650, to acquire an outstanding 15th century painting deemed an important British cultural asset and initiating a partnership with York Art Gallery and Bristol Museum & Art Gallery. 

In November 2015, the Government placed a temporary export bar on the painting, St Luke Drawing the Virgin and Child, attributed to the workshop of Dieric Bouts the Elder, to allow the opportunity for it to remain in the UK. It is of exceptional interest due to its close associations with Dieric Bouts, regarded as one of the leading Netherlandish painters of his time, and the subject matter it depicts. Both these elements are extremely rare, and comparable examples do not exist in the UK. 

The patterned tiles lead the viewer’s eye through the composition, to the colonnade and landscape beyond. The face of St. Luke, which portrays both age and character, displays the key characteristics associated with Bouts’ portraiture. The expensive damask cloth of honour is exquisitely rendered, as are the tiled floor and marble columns. The detailed landscape beyond the colonnade, showing a walled town receding into a mountainous horizon, demonstrates why Bouts is viewed as one of the most important early Netherlandish landscape painters. 

The majority of the funding came from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) which, thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, awarded The Bowes Museum £1.99million. 

Culture and Digital Minister Matt Hancock said: "It's fantastic news that this stunning painting will remain in the UK for the public to see. I'm delighted that the export deferral has allowed this outstanding work of art to find a new home at The Bowes Museum." 

The Museum will lead on the project and acquire the painting before embarking on an innovative partnership with York Art Gallery and Bristol Museum & Art Gallery to deliver a diverse and exciting activity programme surrounding the painting, across the three venues, with each partner focusing on different aspects of the programme and sharing learning. All three galleries have excellent Old Master collections and the acquisition of this major painting allows each to highlight their holding of early Netherlandish painting while reaching different audiences across the country. 

Laura Turner, Senior Curator of Art and Science at York Museums Trust, said: “We are thrilled that Bouts’ St Luke Drawing the Virgin and Child will remain in the UK. With such a strong collection of Old Masters at York Art Gallery, we have an affinity with the work and consider it to be of great national importance. 

“We look forward to receiving the loan in 2018 and introducing a programme of events at York Art Gallery that will celebrate the acquisition and share more information about the painting with the public.” 

The exhibiting of the painting, together with the outcomes of research and the programme of activities, will aim to keep the public fully informed about the artist, the artwork and the context, to engage interest and encourage participation. 

At the end of the long-term project the painting will be housed at The Bowes Museum, where it will become part of the permanent collection. 

As well as making a significant financial contribution to the acquisition, the Art Fund was able to further support through acting as the purchaser, and then making a gift of the work to The Bowes Museum. This ensured that the work could be purchased without additional tax, meaning that the museum could acquire the work for a significantly reduced price.