WITH just days to go to save a Manet painting for the nation, Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum is closing in on £7.83m to buy the Impressionist masterpiece.
The Ashmolean has now raised more than 93 per cent of the total needed to acquire Manet’s portrait of Fanny Claus for the UK.
With over £500,000 left to raise, the museum is focusing its appeal on the public and foundations.
Museum director Dr Christopher Brown said: “Following the launch of the Outdoor Manet Trail in which 10 reproductions of the painting have been displayed at sites across Oxford city centre, the museum is receiving new donations every day and is in discussion with a number of foundations and individuals regarding major gifts.”
The painting has already been sold to a foreign buyer for £28.35m. But under a private treaty sale, with tax remission, the Ashmolean as an approved public body is able to secure the painting for Oxford at a fraction of that price.
The export ban ends on August 7 and the Ashmolean set itself the target of raising the money by the beginning of August to allow sufficient time to complete the purchase.
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