The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge reports that the campaign by the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Art Fund to raise £3.9m to enable the museum to acquire Nicolas Poussin’s masterpiece Extreme Unction (c. 1638-40) has reached a successful conclusion with the help of a substantial grant of approximately £3 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and almost £1 million in donations from members of the public and charitable organisations.
Nicolas Poussin, Extreme Unction (c. 1638-40)
Supporters of the Fitzwilliam Museum gave a total of £692,000 including significant funds from Friends of the Fitzwilliam. As well as providing a grant of £100,000, the Art Fund also raised funds through contributions from nearly 3,000 members, bringing in approximately £142,000. The Museum is thankful for the support of a number of other trusts and foundations.
These hugely generous donations and grants mean that the Fitzwilliam Museum can now take advantage of an extraordinary opportunity provided by HM Government’s Acceptance in Lieu scheme to acquire the painting for £3.9m instead of its market value of £14m. For the Museum, this will be the most significant Old Master acquisition in nearly a century. Now it will be available for all to see, free of charge, in perpetuity.
When the painting returns to Cambridge, it will go on special display in the Octagon Gallery from early December. – www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk