Nearly £45 million-worth of art has been left to the nation in the last year, including masterpieces by Van Gogh, Van Dyck and Constable, and the personal collection of Lucien Freud.
A report published by Arts Council England revealed the details of 27 gifts offered by private owners to the British public collections, with a total value of £44.3 million.
The sum is double the value of artworks offered to the nation a decade ago, and is the result of the Acceptance in Lieu scheme which allows owners to use important artworks to pay inheritance tax.
