Paintings by Titian, Van Dyck and David Hockney as well as many other cultural works – with a combined value of £19.8 million – were saved for the nation last year thanks to the Government’s Acceptance in Lieu (AIL) scheme, Culture Minister Margaret Hodge has told Parliament.

Collections in Norwich, Nottingham, Northampton and Oxford, as well as national museums and galleries in London, have had works allocated to them, which will now be available for all to enjoy for all time. Today’s announcement means that works valued at nearly £100 million have passed into public collections over the last five years under the AIL scheme.

In a Written Statement to Parliament, Culture Minister Margaret Hodge said:

“2008/09 has, once again, been a year of outstanding success for the Acceptance-in-Lieu Scheme with a wide range of cultural objects saved for the nation. Objects ranging from a Titian to a David Hockney , from family archives to architectural drawings with a value of £19.8m have been accepted under the scheme. This represents an increase in value of £4.6m from 2007/08 and a total value of objects of £98.5m in the last five years. Tax of £10.8m was written off by the acceptance of the cultural objects in 2008/09.

This year’s allocation includes The Triumph of Love by Titian and works by Van Dyck, Millais and Reynolds. Archives also feature heavily in this year’s report, as do works by contemporary artists, including Frank Auerbach, David Hockney and Howard Hodgkin. Once again, the Scheme has helped to save items which are of significance within a more local context such as a landscape by Gainsborough which is to be allocated to Norwich Castle Museum. All of these items will now be available for everyone to enjoy for all time.

Source: Department for Culture, Media And Sport

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