Museum acquisitions

Archive papers and personal objects belonging to the late Professor Stephen Hawking (1944-2018) have been acquired by two institutions.

The National Gallery in London and Birmingham’s Barber Institute of Fine Arts will both benefit from the acquisition of a portrait by German artist Lovis Corinth (1858-1925).

The National Gallery has taken ownership of a portrait by Isaack Luttichuys (1616-73), the first work by the artist to enter a British public collection.

The J Paul Getty Museum has acquired a work by Artemisia Gentileschi (1593- c.1654) that had previously sold for a record auction price in 2019.

A portrait of the 'mother of modern British ballet’ will go on public display this autumn after dance enthusiasts rallied round to bid at auction.

Artefacts found buried in the ground by metal detectors across the UK has yet again increased Treasure finds allowing museums to boost their collections.

A wax seal matrix bought at auction by National Museums Scotland has revealed how James V of Scotland (1512-42) treated one of his illegitimate sons.

A group of rare portrait miniatures has been gifted to the Warwickshire art gallery and country house Compton Verney.

A £2m pocket watch once owned by George III has been temporarily blocked from export to give a UK institution the chance to purchase it.

A group of hand-drawn Armada maps depicting a key moment in England’s history have been saved after a fundraising campaign by the Royal Navy museum.

Members of the Royal Medical Service hope to raise funding to purchase a medicine cabinet that has been linked to Lord Nelson’s surgeon Sir William Beatty.

An Egyptian polychrome painted limestone relief from the 12th dynasty has been bought by the State Museum of Egyptian Art in Munich, Germany.

Chawton House has bought a rare first edition of Poems by Jane Austen’s favourite poet, William Cowper, which was once owned by her brother.

The Dorset Archives Trust (DAT) has raised the final £5000 needed to purchase a collection of important manuscript and printed material once owned by novelist and poet Thomas Hardy (1840-1928).