Old and busted: A dingo ate my baby
New hotness: An Israeli saved our dingo (hat tip: EuroGirl3)
Two paintings that gave Britain the first glimpse of a kangaroo and a dingo will stay in the country after a successful campaign.
The works by George Stubbs, one of Britain’s most famous artists, date from 1772.
Named The Kongouro From New Holland and Portrait Of A Large Dog, they were first shown at the Royal Academy in London the year after they were painted.
They gave the British public the first ever glimpse of the Australian animals.
The paintings were sold last year to a buyer outside the UK and there were fears they would soon leave the country.
However the works were made the subject of a Government export bar while the National Maritime Museum was given a chance to raise funds to keep it.
Now a final donation of £1.5m from the Eyal Ofer Family Foundation means works will stay at the museum, in Greenwich, south London.
Sir David Attenborough, who publicly supported the museum’s appeal, said: “Exciting news that these two pictures, so important in the history of zoological discovery, are to remain where they were commissioned and painted.”
