Thanks for your article Camille, I had no idea that there was a struggle to keep Sir Anthony Van Dyck's last self-portrait in the UK.

It was painted only shortly before the Flemish artist died in 1641, most probably from the plague.....as so many seemed to do in those days, so thank goodness it is at least being displayed at the National Portrait Gallery while it tries to find the required remaining £11.3m.

He was one of the greatest artists to have worked in Britain and had an enormous impact on British portraiture, his influence changed it from the stiff, formal approach of Tudor and Jacobean painting.

Had the joy of seeing so much of his work in Haarlem and Amsterdam, incredible. It would be super if you could take time out to explore the Flemish artists on show in Europe, they are hard to beat and you would so enjoy them.

Am glad the safeguard for British national treasures, through the Reviewing Committee on Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, actually functions. smile These committees are often no use at all.

So much of cultural importance would disappear into invisibility to the world in general otherwise, and judging by the recent past then it would only be enjoyed by perhaps billionaires of one type or another and former American Idol winners, for example.

Van Dyck – Saving a UK National Treasure



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