Wolsey Angels saved for the nation

16th February, 2015

It was announced today that the Wolsey Angels have been saved for the nation by the Victoria and Albert Museum.

They said “The V&A has raised the £5 million needed to complete the purchase of four bronze angels originally designed for the tomb of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, chief advisor to King Henry VIII and once one of the most powerful men in England”.

 

They have successfully raised the £5m needed to put them on permanent display for the public to see.

This is great news as it would have been a tragedy to see them disappear into a private collection somewhere never to be seen again. It’s good to be on the side of the Angels!

I hope that one day they will be loaned to us in Leicester, perhaps to be displayed in the Richard III visitor centre. Wolsey’s rise to power started with his appointment as Chaplain to Henry Tudor, Richard III’s nemesis.

Stephen Deuchar, director of the Art Fund, said:

‘The unexpected opportunity to reunite and display these four beautiful works of sculpture, so intimately connected with the course of British history, could not be overlooked. The Art Fund was happy to support the acquisition and is immensely pleased that the public campaign has been so successful.’