LONDON.- John Bute, Christie’s and Savills announce that Dumfries House and its contents, together with its 2,000 acre estate, have been acquired for the nation by The Art Fund. Those contributing towards the venture were brought together by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales and include The Prince’s Charities Foundation, the Scottish Executive, the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Monument Trust, The Art Fund, the National Heritage Memorial Fund and SAVE Britain’s Heritage.

Dumfries House in Ayrshire was designed and built by John, Robert and James Adam between 1754 and 1759 and contains the most important collection of Rococo furniture by Thomas Chippendale to remain in private hands, and the only fully documented furniture commission dating to his seminal Director period.

John Bute said: “I am delighted to say that following the closing date, I have decided to sell Dumfries House and its contents to the nation. Dumfries House and its contents will remain intact as a unique example of Georgian craftsmanship. Since announcing my intention to sell Dumfries House in 2004, considerable effort has been made by all parties involved to reach this conclusion. Dumfries House has been a private family residence since its creation in the 18th century by my ancestor, the 5th Earl of Dumfries, and it is my hope that it will go on to be enjoyed long into the future by a wider public.

The amount of time, effort and commitment put into this rescue package by Marcus Binney of SAVE and his colleagues and The Art Fund has been rewarded with an appropriate outcome. I would also like to acknowledge the very considerable effort made by my own private advisers to bring the sale to its final conclusion: Christie's, Savills and Anderson Strathern. However, there is no doubt that the person responsible for galvanising the heritage funding bodies and who also generated separate finance is Prince Charles. In my opinion, the rescue package would have failed without his intervention.

Apart from the importance of preserving the building and contents as part of Scotland's heritage, I am also extremely optimistic about the positive impact that this development will have on the local economies of Cumnock and Auchinleck as well as East Ayrshire.”

Charles Cator, Deputy Chairman, Christie’s International said: “Over the last four years, Christie’s has supported John Bute’s hope of finding a negotiated private treaty sale solution for Dumfries House and its contents. It has long been part of Christie’s history to secure sales of works of art to the nation and we are delighted to have played a key role in saving this magnificent house and its exceptional contents. Dumfries House is one of the finest and most original collections of British furniture and contains the only fully documented works of art dating from Chippendale’s illustrious Director Period, as well as the finest private collection of documented Scottish 18th century furniture. We look forward to supporting the future of Dumfries House and hope that it will be admired and appreciated by the public long into the future.”

Anna Thomas of Savills Edinburgh office said: “The sale of the Dumfries Estate generated a great deal of interest from buyers in UK, Ireland and internationally, resulting in strong competition at the closing date. Savills is proud to have been instructed with the sale of this truly exceptional property and delighted that the winning bid will enable the house and estate to be saved for the nation.”