Guardi for Oxford

This apparently pristine oil painting by Francesco Guardi, Venice: the Fondamenta Nuove with the Lagoon and the Island of San Michele (c. 1758), previously unpublished, has been acquired by the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford (CLICK). It was painted for a British Grand Tourist and kept in the family. The acquisition was made possible by Arts Council England under the Acceptance in Lieu of Inheritance scheme plus a generous grant from the Art Fund and from other donors. I'm puzzled by the donations, because I thought the whole idea of the Acceptance in Lieu scheme was to take artworks instead of inheritance tax, not to pay for them. Still, who am I to quibble? CLICK for a larger image of this beautiful painting.