Raphael's Madonna saved

The battle to block the sale of one of the most cherished paintings in the National Gallery's collection to an American gallery has been won, the Evening Standard can reveal.

Later today it will be formally announced that the Madonna Of The Pinks by Raphael will not leave Britain after the gallery thrashed out a deal with its former owner, The Duke of Northumberland.

The Duke had accepted a £34 million offer from The Getty Museum in Los Angeles in 2002 for the Raphael, which had been on loan to the National Gallery for over a decade.

The National Gallery had described its possible loss as an "emergency". Led by its director Charles Saumarez Smith it appealed for lottery funds and private donations to match that offer. Now, after 16 months of wrangling, it has triumphed.

The Madonna has been sold to the National Gallery for £22 million. The Duke, who needed funds to maintain Alnwick Castle, the family seat, will pay no tax on that sum.

Mr Saumarez Smith said: "The National Gallery and the Duke of Northumberland are delighted that this extraordinarily beautiful painting is going to stay in this country.

"It ensures a picture of exceptional tenderness remains to be enjoyed on tour and as part of the National Gallery's great collection." The Madonna Of The Pinks - smaller than a piece of A4 paper - will tour the nation so people can see why the Heritage Lottery Fund paid £11.5 million towards it.

A further £400,000 came from the National Art Collections Fund, over £600,000 from the public and much more from other, private, donors.

Doubts still remain, however, whether the painting truly is by Raphael himself.

Evening Standard critic Brian Sewell - formerly a specialist at Christie's - has declared his "profound" misgivings about the painting's authenticity.

The Madonna is believed to have been painted around 1507 for a Perugian nun. The "Pinks" of the title refers to the carnations, symbols of devotion.