Explore the Toronto version of this artwork.
As it was common for private collectors to request copies of a noted public work, there is also a version of this painting in Toronto. This version had for many years been part of the collection of the Irish noble family the Barons of Farnham. In 1959 it was loaned to the Art Gallery of Ontario in a deal orchestrated by Sir Anthony Blunt. The price for the gallery to permanently own the work was put at $100,000, and a major fundraising project was launched. This price worked out to roughly $10 per inch, and in the hall of the gallery a copy of the painting was displayed covered in one inch white squares. For every ten dollar donation one of the squares was removed. With the participation of schools, church groups, and others the money was raised in less than a year and the painting was purchased for the permanent collection.
Barons of Farnham Anthony Blunt Art Gallery of Ontario