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Winston Churchill and Benjamin Disraeli’s desk, a painting by Vanessa Bell and a rare artwork by Edgar Degas are among the items of cultural importance saved for the nation this year.
The items, worth a total of £59.7m, will be allocated to museums, galleries, libraries and archives around the UK as part of Art Council England’s cultural gifts and acceptance in lieu schemes.
Some items were accepted for their outstanding rarity, cultural value or technical skills, while others offer insights into the UK’s history through some of the nation’s most renowned public figures.
The Regency mahogany standing desk used by Churchill and Disraeli during their times as prime minister has been allocated to the National Trust’s Hughenden Manor, Disraeli’s former country house. Churchill is thought to have used the desk when working on wartime speeches, and it is visible in photographs from 1943 of Churchill’s bedroom in the Downing Street annexe.
The still life painting by Bell – sister of the writer Virginia Woolf – is called Vase, Flowers and Bowl, and has been allocated to the Charleston Trust for display at Charleston House, Firle. The painting marks a mid-point between Bell’s earlier abstract works and her later more realistic style.
Danseuses roses, a vivid pastel by Degas that shows four young dancers at rest, has been allocated to the National Gallery in London. The work is said to reflect Degas’s interest in recording the intimate lives of working-class women – milliners, laundresses and especially dancers.
The cultural gifts scheme (CGS) enables UK taxpayers to donate important cultural objects to the nation in return for a percentage reduction in tax based on the value of the item donated.
This year, the scheme also included a collection of the photographer and photojournalist Bill Brandt’s work, which has been allocated to the Tate. Brandt was one of many emigrants from Nazi Germany to Britain, and the collection includes some of the annotated prints used by Brandt for his publications.
The acceptance in lieu scheme (AIL) allows those who have an inheritance tax bill to pay it by transferring important cultural, scientific or historic objects to the nation. The scheme was created in Lloyd George’s people’s budget of 1910.
Other highlights in the scheme this year include the political archive of Lord Geoffrey Howe, one of the leading political figures in the decades after the second world war, who served as chancellor, foreign secretary, deputy prime minister and leader of the House of Commons during Margaret Thatcher’s time in office. The archive has been transferred to the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford.
There are also deeds related to the four knights of King Henry II who murdered Thomas Becket, the archbishop of Canterbury. The four documents provide an intimate insight into the fates of three of the four assailants who were behind one of the most notorious events in medieval history. They have been transferred to the South West Heritage Trust, Taunton.
Meanwhile, a portrait by Pompeo Batoni, one of the most sought-after portraitists in 18th-century Rome, has been transferred to the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle. The portrait of Martha Swinburne will be reunited with that of her husband, Henry, at the gallery.
Nicholas Serota, the chair of Arts Council England, said the schemes were “vital routes” to securing unique objects for generations of visitors to enjoy. “The diverse items outlined in this report will allow more communities to enjoy and better understand our shared cultural heritage.”
Michael Clarke, the chair of the acceptance in lieu panel, said it was the most prolific year for the scheme since 2020. “From the furnishings that stood in the halls of power during moments of great national peril, to the touching personal story of Martha Swinburne’s portrait being reunited with her husband’s in the Laing Gallery, Newcastle, every AIL and CGS allocation is unique and contributes something new to our public collections and their audiences,” he said.
