Galleries hope to save Titians

The UK's two national galleries, in England and Scotland, are hoping to raise £100m to save masterpieces by Titian for the nation. The two paintings, Diana & Actaeon and Diana & Callisto, have been on loan from the Duke of Sutherland since 1945, but now the duke hopes to raise £100m by selling the paintings. The galleries describe his terms as "extremely generous".

If the galleries can raise the £50m to buy the first painting, then the duke will offer them the second on the same terms in four years time. The figure is about one third of their value on the open market.

The paintings were made for King Philip II of Spain between 1556 and 1559, and are on display in the National Gallery of Scotland. If the galleries buy them, they will be shared between Edinburgh and London.

John Leighton, director of the National Gallery of Scotland, said: "We are delighted to be working in close collaboration with the duke and our colleagues in London in order to achieve this."