THE benefactor who has saved the Zurbarans caught his first glimpse of his £15m purchase yesterday and declared: “I don’t want to be the Mother Teresa of the North-East.”
Multi-millionaire financier Jonathan Ruffer visited Auckland Castle only hours after the news broke that he had bought the 13 paintings from the Church Commissioners and would be keeping them in the Long Dining Room, where they have hung for more than 250 years.
Negotiations are progressing for the National Trust to make the castle its first property in County Durham, allowing public access to the series of oversize 17th Century Spanish paintings depicting Jacob and his 12 sons.
Mr Ruffer told Tyne Tees TV: “I’m pleased to see them. It is rather eccentric to make this move without having seen them.
It is rather like shaking hands with old friends.
“The one thing I don’t want to be is the Mother Teresa of the North-East. It is a practical thing and the purpose is to encourage and unify."
Full story in today's The Northern Echo
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