The National Gallery, London: 100 Great Paintings - Duccio to Picasso

This book is concerned with illustrating one of the best investments ever made by a British government. In 1824, when the reigning monarch was George IV, an enlightened patron of the arts, and the Prime Minister the Earl of Liverpool, the government decided to purchase 38 paintings from the Angerstein collection and with them create a National Gallery, for the total sum of £60,000. To put that amount in perspective it is worth noting that at the same date the government allocated, for 'repairs' at Windsor
Castle, no less than £300,000.