The Art Newspaper

British Museum to acquire major print collection

Moves to buy 7,250 mezzotints from Lennox-Boyd

By Martin Bailey | Web only
Published online 21 Oct 09 (Museums)

london. The British Museum in London hopes to make its largest acquisition of prints since 1902. It wants to buy 7,250 mezzotints from Christopher Lennox-Boyd, a specialist who has assembled a collection of 50,000 during a period of 40 years. The British Museum has examined them all, selecting mezzotints (produced with a tonal printing method) from the 17th to 19th centuries, which it lacks. The agreed price is £1,250,000, an average of £170 each. So far the British Museum Friends have pledged £300,000, the Art Fund has offered £250,000 and £65,000 has come from individual donors. A request for £585,000 is being considered by the National Heritage Memorial Fund. Lennox-Boyd had earlier auctioned two groups of prints at Christie’s (12 March 2008 and 25 February 2009), which raised £468,000. The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, bought 65 of his most important prints in 2001-04.

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