Museum acquisitions
Museums often acquire works through donations but, in spite of funding constraints, they also make purchases to expand their collections, either bidding at auctions, negotiating private treaty sales or, in the UK, via the Acceptance in Lieu scheme.
![After the Audience by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema](/media/106375/alma-tadema-national-gallery-2656nedi-16-08-2024.jpg?rxy=0.46666666666666667,0.34223300970873788&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133682783400000000)
Christie’s brokers sale of Alma-Tadema from Isabel Goldsmith’s collection to The National Gallery
16 August 2024The National Gallery in London has acquired a major work by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912) from the collection of Isabel Goldsmith.
![Womans Work](/media/105771/womans-work.jpg?width=125&height=125&rmode=max&updated=08%2f02%2f2024+10%3a08%3a34)
London gallery sells feminist masterpiece to Manchester Art Gallery
02 August 2024Martin Beisly Fine Art has sold a major work by a female Victorian artist to Manchester Art Gallery.
![Deposition of Christ carving](/media/105261/deposition-from-the-cross-2653nedi-17-07-2024.jpg?rxy=0.43833333333333335,0.29036295369211512&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133656139570000000)
‘Exceptionally rare’ ivory carving saved for the nation after £2m purchase
17 July 2024A rare medieval carving previously part of an antiques dealer’s collection has been bought for £2m by the V&A.
![img_60-2.jpg](/media/104244/img_60-2.jpg?rxy=0.54302103250478007,0.47193877551020408&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133629313280000000)
Paper chasers: British Museum shows off recent print purchases
17 June 2024The British Museum never stands still when it comes to acquiring works on paper, as a new exhibition showcasing purchases over the past 20 years demonstrates
![Bill Spalding Chess Set E 04 06 2024](/media/103675/bill-spalding-chess-set-e-04-06-2024.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133616448650000000)
Chess set inspired by 1980s strike goes on display at National Coal Mining Museum
04 June 2024Pieces feature key political figures such as Margaret Thatcher and Neil Kinnock
![img_26-1.jpg](/media/103737/img_26-1.jpg?rxy=0.4324786324786325,0.38483547925608014&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133618877450000000)
Interview: how a museum raises funds from auction guarantees
03 June 2024The existence of third-party guarantees has been a notable feature in the auction market for more than two decades now. Indeed, it is now the most common form of guarantee issued by salerooms, in particular on high-value artworks.
![img_26-1.jpg](/media/103737/img_26-1.jpg?rxy=0.4324786324786325,0.38483547925608014&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133618877450000000)
Museum makes $500,000 from auction guarantees
03 June 2024A museum in the US has revealed that it made $500,000 by acting as a third-party guarantor at high-profile sales.
![Eva Gonzalès picture](/media/102880/2643nedi-getty-gonzales.jpg?rxy=0.42060085836909872,0.20494699646643111&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133594775520000000)
Getty Museum buys 17 drawings from private collection
07 May 2024The J Paul Getty Museum has acquired 17 drawings dating from the 16th to early 20th centuries from a private collection.
![Admiral Sir Francis Austen drawings](/media/102623/img_6-2.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133588622730000000)
Auction buy set to shed light on Jane Austen
29 April 2024A 78-page manuscript bought at a Bonhams auction could help to shed light on author Jane Austen.
![Bartolomeo Manfredi painting](/media/102442/bartolomeo-manfredi-getty-2641ne03a-25-04-2024.jpg?rxy=0.48339483394833949,0.42779291553133514&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133584310890000000)
Getty Museum buys Caravaggisti party scene from private collector
24 April 2024The J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles has acquired a lively 17th century genre painting by Italian artist Bartolomeo Manfredi (1582-1622).
![La Psyché by Eva Gonzalès](/media/102229/2641nedi-la-psyche.jpg?rxy=0.49166666666666664,0.25114155251141551&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133580069530000000)
The National Gallery buys its first work by Impressionist painter Eva Gonzalès
22 April 2024A painting by French Impressionist painter Eva Gonzalès has been acquired by The National Gallery via a private treaty sale from a British collection for a “tax-advantageous price” of £1.49m.
![Sophie Frémiet portrait](/media/101988/getty-museum-sophie-fremiet-2639ne-11-04-2024.jpg?rxy=0.44833333333333331,0.25120192307692307&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133573107710000000)
Dealer sells portrait by female artist to Getty Museum
11 April 2024With international institutions keen to rebalance their collections to include more works by female artists, the J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles announced this week that it has bought an early portrait by Sophie Frémiet (1797-1867).
![Celadon-glazed dragon box](/media/101767/chinese-box-1.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133567917830000000)
Florida museum reveals purchase of early Chinese artefact alongside donation of 700 prints
08 April 2024The Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida has purchased an early Northern Song Dynasty stoneware box from a private US collector for a six-figure sum.
![GF Watts self-portrait](/media/101729/2368nedi-watts-self-portrait-christies.jpg?rxy=0.42731277533039647,0.25357142857142856&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133565295340000000)
Self-portrait by George Frederic Watts acquired by Watts Gallery via tax deal
03 April 2024A self-portrait by artist George Frederic Watts (1817-1904) has been acquired by Watts Gallery in Compton, near Guildford.
![Eucharist](/media/101348/2637nedi-eucharist.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133555839540000000)
Poussin’s Last Supper painting purchased by The National Gallery via Acceptance in Lieu deal
26 March 2024The National Gallery has acquired 'Eucharist' (c.1637-40), a depiction of the Last Supper, by Nicolas Poussin (1594–1664).
![The Pale Complexion Of True Love (Framed)](/media/101341/the-pale-complexion-of-true-love-framed.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133555122100000000)
UK dealers announce series of sales to overseas museums
25 March 2024Several pictures and one leatherwork portrait have recently gone to institutions in the US and France.
![Sarah Biffin self-portrait](/media/101127/sarah-biffin-a-2635ne-16-03-2024.jpg?rxy=0.52666666666666662,0.43285714285714288&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133548910490000000)
Sarah Biffin self-portrait acquired by Museum of Somerset from dealer Philip Mould
16 March 2024A self-portrait by Sarah Biffin (c.1784-1850) bought by the Museum of Somerset has recently gone on display.
![Johann Sebastian Bach manuscript](/media/101126/johann-sebastian-bach-manuscript-2635nedi-15-03-2024.jpg?rxy=0.4785276073619632,0.10106382978723404&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133548163010000000)
‘A testament to elegance’: Bach manuscript goes to Bodleian in lieu of inheritance tax
15 March 2024A rare autograph manuscript by composer Johann Sebastian Bach has been acquired by the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries.
![Braintree hoard](/media/100209/2631nedi-braintree-hoard-noonans.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133523920700000000)
Anglo-Saxon coin hoard discovered in Braintree by metal detectorists comes to auction
15 February 2024An impressive group of Anglo-Saxon pennies, found by metal detectorists near Braintree in Essex, will be offered in separate lots at Noonans.
![Bayeux embroidery replica](/media/99729/2629nedi-reproduction-tapisserie-de-bayeux.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133511931790000000)
Bayeux Museum buys Victorian replica of the famous tapestry from the collection of Rolling Stones drummer
31 January 2024The Bayeux Museum in France has bought a life-size Victorian replica of the Bayeux tapestry from the Charlie Watts sale.
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