Late banker’s rare paintings donated to the National Gallery
THE NATIONAL Gallery has snapped up three 18th-century portraits that can now be viewed online while it remains closed during the lockdown.
The valuable works are from the late collector and merchant banker George Pinto’s estate, and have been donated under the Acceptance in Lieu scheme.
The scheme allows next of kin and beneficiaries to offset inheritance tax by offering works of art and private collections to the nation. In the Pinto case, the tax saving was more than £10m.
Pinto died in a car accident aged 89, in 2018.
Jean-Etienne Liotard’s The Lavergne Family Breakfast (1754) is an early morning scene showing a woman and her daughter, who has paper curlers in her hair.
Thomas Gainsborough’s Portrait of Margaret Gainsborough Holding A Theorbo (a plucked string instrument) and Sir Thomas Lawrence’s Portrait of the Hon Peniston Lamb (c.1790) have also been acquired.
They now each have a dedicated artwork page on the National Gallery’s website, where visitors
can read about works in the gallery’s collections and the stories of the artists featured.
Culture Minister Caroline Dinenage said: “The Acceptance in Lieu scheme shares the generous gifts of art lovers with the British public.
“Thanks to the scheme, these three outstanding works will join the National Gallery’s collection for future generations to enjoy.
“I am pleased that the works will be online from today, giving people the opportunity to enjoy them from their own homes.”