The Art Fund is an independent charity which secures works of art for Britain’s museums and galleries. We’ve saved 13 works by Sir Peter Paul Rubens in the past, and depend on donations from the public to do our work.

Founded by four individual art-lovers in 1903, The Art Fund draws its support from its 80,000 members. Their contributions enable us to offer grants of around £5m each year to museums and galleries to help them enrich their collections. From great masterpieces like Velazquez’s Rokeby Venus and Turner’s Blue Rigi, to sculpture, craft, archaeological treasures and the latest contemporary art installations, the range of works we have made available for the public to enjoy in over 600 museums across the country is truly astonishing.

This is not the first time we’ve helped a museum acquire a work by Rubens. One of the most notable, and relevant to the campaign to acquire the Banqueting House sketch, is James I uniting the Kingdoms of England and Scotland, 1632-33, which Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery acquired in 1985. This is one of the colour oil sketches for the ceiling, painted by Rubens between the first sketch and the ceiling itself. Some other works by Rubens which have been acquired with our help are illustrated here.

The Art Fund believes that art has the power to transform people’s lives. We are independent, and receive no government or lottery funding. We campaign widely for the public’s access to art, and were instrumental in persuading the government to introduce free entry to all national museums in 2001. And we promote the enjoyment of art through our membership scheme.

Our members join us because they love art and believe it should be available for everyone to enjoy, and the money we raise from them goes directly to help museums and galleries. They are friends to all the UK’s museums and galleries, not just to one, and in return they receive a wide range of benefits as thanks.

To find out more or if you would like to join, visit www.artfund.org/join