Ashmolean Museum raises £4.8m to keep rare Fra Angelico work in UK

The Crucifixion, painted in 1420s, was due to be sold to overseas buyer before deferral granted in January

The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford has raised £4.48m to prevent a rare Italian Renaissance painting from leaving the country after two centuries.

Fra Angelico’s The Crucifixion was going to be sold to an overseas buyer last year, but due to the work’s value and importance to the UK, the culture secretary granted a deferral of nine months in January to keep the painting in the UK, giving the Oxford University institute time to raise the funds needed to acquire it.