Tim Horwood wrote:

>In the UK the Lottery fund has decided to donate $11.5 million to the
>National Gallery for a 9" x 11" painting by Raphael.  This is so the
>painting may be kept in the UK rather go to the USA.  Am I alone in
>thinking this is mad?

Depends.  As I recall, the National Gallery in Washington, DC (USA) has
several Rafaels, but no Rafael madonna.  Is the painting in question a
madonna, which our gallery might want to acquire?

>Raphael may be a great artist but the National Gallery already have a few
>Raphaels.  Imagine if $11.5 million was spent on music instead.  This would
>probably fund a large number of performances of neglected British works.

Does London's National Gallery have regular classical music concerts like
Washington's?  We have them weekly and they're gratis.

Walter Meyer