A MASTERPIECE by the foremost 18th century English portrait painter has been given to Tate Britain to settle a £4.7million inheritance tax bill at one of the North’s finest stately homes.

Sir Joshua Reynold’s oil painting of British diplomat Frederick Howard, the 5th Earl of Carlisle, will remain on public display at Castle Howard, near Pickering, where the artwork has been central to one of the world’s leading art collections for more than 200 years.

The portrait, which has long been recognised as one of Reynolds’ masterpieces, was commissioned by the sitter and completed in 1769 when the artist was at the height of his powers, having just been elected the first President of the Royal Academy.

Dressed in formal robes surrounded by classical architecture and his beloved dog Rover at his feet, art experts said the painting captured a 20-year-old Carlisle, who completed the building of the stately home, “in a lively and highly skilled manner, marking his entry into society following his Grand Tour and his position as head of this important family dynasty”.

Tate Britain director Alex Farquharson described the artwork as “magnificent” and “glamorous”.

Arts Council England has announced the 2.4m by 1.5m artwork, featuring the ancestor of the current custodians of Castle Howard, Nicholas and Simon Howard, had been accepted into public ownership in lieu of a tax liability in a scheme in which the taxpayer is given the full open market value of heritage objects.

Over the last decade the scheme has allocated more than £250million worth of cultural property into public collections, including from Norton Conyers, near Ripon, Newburgh Priory, near Thirsk and Highclere Castle, the location for TV drama Downton Abbey.

While the artworks are often loaned back to their former owners, the agreement will see the Reynold’s portrait shown around the country in the coming years, including at Tate Britain.

The tax settlement follows the Howards raising £12.7million through the sale of nine artworks last year. The family, which has owned the property for three centuries, sanctioned the sale after it became apparent receipts from the 235,000 visitors it receives annually would not fund the maintenance work it needed.