FRA ANGELICO'S CRUCIFIXION – AN ITALIAN RENAISSANCE MASTERPIECE SAVED FOR THE PUBLIC

This acquisition was made possible thanks to exceptional support from:

The Lord Lupton CBE
The National Heritage Memorial Fund
David and Molly Lowell Borthwick
Art Fund
The Headley Trust
The Emmett Family
Barrie and Deedee Wigmore
John Booth CVO
Dr Anthea Hume
Patrons of the Ashmolean Museum
Lord and Lady Sassoon
Ian and Caroline Laing

And the generosity of:

In memory of David Boyle
Mrs Rosamond Brown
Henry Oldfield Trust
Christian Levett
Chris Rokos
The Fernside Trust
Denys and Victoria Firth
Ruddock Foundation for the Arts
Daniel Katz Gallery
The Lady Heseltine
Gillian Berg
Catherine Lewis Foundation
The Eddie Dinshaw Foundation
In the memory of Anthea Gibson
Fabrizio Moretti
Park Charitable Trust
Rockcliffe Charitable Trust
The Society of Dilettanti Charitable Trust
Omnia Art Ltd.

With additional thanks to:

Nicholas Barber CBE, David & Lexi Young Charitable Trust, Lord Faringdon Charitable Trust, Michael and Sue Pragnell, Francis Russell, Sir Martin Smith and Lady Smith OBE, Cristina and Nicholas White, John and Margaret Leighfield, Dame Helen Ghosh, Sir David Scholey, The British Italian Society, Mr and Mrs E Leckie, Sue and Sandy Arbuthnot, A friend of Blackfriars, Dr Harry Dickinson, Dame Pippa Harris, Miss Elizabeth Howe OPL, Teresa Krasny, Richard Mayou, Christopher North and Sophie de Brito e Cunha-North, Mr and Mrs Michael Pelham, Adrian Sassoon, Edward Smyth, Mark Stevenson, and those who wish to remain anonymous along with many generous others. 

With special thanks to Art Fund for its exceptional support to close the campaign in its final days.

The Ashmolean houses an extensive Italian Renaissance collection that includes important pieces by Raphael, Michelangelo and Uccello, as well as a rare, later work by Fra Angelico and his studio: a triptych of the Virgin and Child.

There are very few major paintings by Fra Angelico in public collections in the UK, and no complete works by the artist – the National Gallery and the Courtauld Gallery only hold fragments of larger altarpieces in their collections.
 

The Virgin and Child with Angels and a Dominican Saint, Fra Angelico, 1450–1455. Ashmolean Museum

Now that the acquisition has been successful, it makes the Ashmolean the only museum in the country where visitors will be able to witness Fra Angelico’s development over the course of his career. The Crucifixion will complement and significantly enhance the Museum’s important collection of Early Italian religious works.