Spare A Quid, Guv

Back in March, Tate Britain got its begging bowl out to raise £6m to stop Rubens' oil sketch The Apotheosis of James I (ca 1628) from being sold abroad. The sketch is worth £11.5m. King Charles I commissioned the work for the ceiling of the Banqueting House in Whitehall, London. I must admit I'm a bit jaded with pleas for cash to save English heritage, especially as we seem to be saving it for invading foreigners who don't don't give a fig for Merry Olde England. And the sketch doesn't show up well on a monitor. My guess is that I'm not the only one feeling jaded, because TV historian David Starkey has recently steamed in to back the campaign (title link). If you're flush and feeling patriotic, send your cheques to Stephen Deuchar, director of Tate Britain, who will happily accept all the credit for saving the Rubens.