‘Significant’ Anthony van Dyck painting to go on display in Glasgow

A “significant” painting by Flemish Old Master Sir Anthony van Dyck has been donated to a city’s museum collection.

The artwork, titled Marchesa Lomellini, has been acquired by Glasgow Museums and will go on display at the city’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum from November 18.

Painted during the artist’s six years in Italy between 1621 and 1627, it features a young Marchesa Lomellini, a member of the noble Lomellini family of Genoa, and is the first van Dyck to enter the city’s collection.

The artwork comes from the collection of Sir Ilay Mark Campbell, 7th Baronet of Succouth (1927-2017) and Lady Campbell.

She and her family offered the painting to the Glasgow Museums Collection, which is cared for by the charity Glasgow Life, as part of the Acceptance in Lieu Scheme, administered by the Arts Council on behalf of the UK Government.

Councillor David McDonald, chairman of Glasgow Life, said: “We are thrilled to accept this significant painting. Acquisitions are a source of excitement, celebration and inspiration and now more than ever, they highlight the contribution art and culture play in people’s wellbeing.

“Until now Glasgow did not have a painting by van Dyck. This portrait, by an internationally important Old Master painter, greatly strengthens our world-class fine art collection and connects well with other paintings we have on show.

“Not only will it attract much attention from regular visitors, but given the excellent standard of the painting, together with the international importance of the artist, it is likely to draw tourists from across the world now they are safely able to travel to Glasgow once again.”

The acceptance of the work from the collection of Sir Ilay and Lady Campbell settled £2.45m of tax.

Scottish artist and art dealer Andrew Wilson acquired the work from the Lomellini family as part of a series of “exceptional” Genoese portraits bought in Italy in 1828.

The painting once hung in the same room at Palazzo Lomellini as the one said to be the most ambitious of all van Dyck’s Genoese portraits, the Lomellini Family, which is part of the collection of National Galleries Scotland.

It was then purchased by Sir Archibald Campbell of Succoth, 2nd Baronet, (1769-1846), of Garscube House, near Glasgow, where it hung in the dining room.

His great-grandson Sir George Campbell of Succoth, 6th Baronet (1894-1967) lent it to the city of Glasgow as a long term loan and it hung in Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum from 1946-76, before it was inherited by the late Sir Ilay Campbell of Succoth.

Culture Secretary Angus Robertson said: “The Acceptance in Lieu scheme is an excellent way to enrich the range of internationally renowned paintings and artefacts that are available for everyone in Scotland to enjoy.

“The donation of Sir Anthony Van Dyck’s unique Portrait of A Lady to Glasgow for display at its Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is extremely welcome, particularly as it is the first painting by this artist to enter the city’s collection.

“This is an important and valuable acquisition, one which I hope will give great joy to many people.”

Van Dyck was born in Antwerp, Belgium in 1599 and went on to become one of the most important painters of the 17th century.

The Acceptance in Lieu scheme was founded in 1910 and allows donors to offset their inheritance tax liabilities by leaving objects of cultural, historical or artistic significance to the public.