Duke offers to sell Titian painting for third of real value

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A British aristocrat is offering British public galleries a 50 million-pound (US$92 million) bargain - a Renaissance painting by the Italian artist Titian. "Diana and Actaeon" is one of Titian's greatest works and is estimated to be worth 150 million pounds (US$275 million) on the open market. Its owner, the Duke of Sutherland, has offered it to major public galleries for a third of that price. The National Galleries of Scotland and London's National Gallery launched a public appeal Thursday for funds to buy the painting. They hope to raise money from the government, arts bodies and private donors. If the bid is successful, the duke says he will offer another Titian, "Diana and Callisto," to the galleries in four years.