A recently discovered unfinished self-portrait of Lucian Freud (1922-2011) has been accepted in lieu from the estate of the artist and allocated to the National Portrait Gallery in London.
The self-portrait, thought to date from the mid-1980s, will join the archive of Freud’s sketchbooks, drawings and letters that were allocated to the gallery under the scheme in 2015. A selection of these, together with the self-portrait, will go on show at the National Portrait Gallery in June of this year, as part of a small display which includes other portraits by the artist from its Collection together with important loans.
The Acceptance in Lieu Scheme is administered by the Arts Council and enables taxpayers to pay inheritance tax by transferring important works of art and other important heritage objects into public ownership. The taxpayer is given the full open market value of the item, which then becomes the property of a public museum, archive or library. In this case, the acceptance of the self-portrait settled £559,773 of inheritance tax.
The Acceptance in Lieu Panel advises Ministers on whether property offered in lieu is of suitable importance, offered at a value which is fair to both nation and taxpayer and whether an allocation wish or condition is appropriate. In the last decade the scheme has bought over £250 million of cultural property into public collections.
“It’s fantastic that this rare unfinished self-portrait will be joining Lucian Freud’s extensive collection of drawings and letters at the National Gallery,” commented Culture Minister Ed Vaizey. “Thanks to the Acceptance in Lieu Scheme, these fascinating pieces will now be enjoyed by the public for years to come.”
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