£50m Titian painting to go on show in Glasgow

The Titian masterpiece, Diana and Actaeon, bought with the help of public cash for the National Galleries in Edinburgh, will come to Glasgow. The National Galleries has revealed that following calls by the Evening Times and Glasgow MSP Bill Butler, it is now intending to show the £50m painting in the city. John Leighton, director general at the National Galleries of Scotland, confirmed that Glasgow’s status in cultural terms will make it one of the “premier venues” for the Titian. He said: “The National Galleries of Scotland and the National Gallery, London, are currently drawing up plans for Titian’s great masterpiece Diana and Actaeon to be shown across the United Kingdom. In a Scottish context this will involve a number of our greatest cities and Glasgow will, of course, be one of the premier venues.” The original plan was for the painting to alternate between Edinburgh and London, spending eight month periods in each city until May 2012, when it would begin a five-year rotation starting with London. Now, it is set to come to an as-yet undecided venue in Glasgow, although Kelvingrove is thought to be the obvious front-runner.