Retained Dutch masterpiece attracts more visitors to Priory

SUPPORTERS who pledged £2.7m to keep an iconic painting in its rightful home in Yorkshire yesterday celebrated their remarkable fundraising feat.

Pieter Brueghel the Younger’s stunning 1602 painting The Procession to Calvary, which has hung at Nostell Priory, near Wakefield, for more than 200 years, was at risk of being lost to public viewing and switched to a private collection when it was put up for sale by owner Lord St Oswald last September.

The National Trust, which owns the stately home, launched a campaign – backed by the Yorkshire Post – to raise the £2.72m needed to buy the painting and keep its star attraction at Nostell Priory.

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It sparked a huge reaction, with the money being pledged by members of the public and various trusts and foundations, in a matter of months.

Now the house has opened its doors to the supporters who helped keep the Dutch masterpiece where it belongs.

Chris Blackburn, house and collections manager at Nostell Priory, said: “It’s a real celebration that the Brueghel is here to stay.

“The fundraising campaign was so successful that the money raised by the public for the Brueghel is the largest amount ever recorded for a single work of art.

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“There were a number of local people who came yesterday who hosted events and fundraising activities and we’re just so glad that we could spend the day celebrating with friends and thanking them for their support.”

The house has just marked its most successful April ever in terms of visitors, many of whom had come specifically to see the painting that now hangs permanently in the Breakfast Room.

The £2.72m raised included £1.5m in grants from the Art Fund and National Heritage Memorial Fund, more than £680,000 from the public and nearly £510,000 from trusts and foundations.