A FORMER museum curator will talk tonight about the historic and artistic significance of a castle's valuable paintings, which are due to be sold.
The Church Commissioners voted last month to sell 13 portraits of Jacob and his Twelve Sons, by 17th Century Spanish artist Francisco de Zurburan, which have hung at Auckland Castle, the Bishop of Durham's official residence for 250 years.
They responded to pleas from the art world by conceding that they should stay in the North-East, prompting Barnard Castle's Bowes Museum to consider ways of finding the money to add them to its Spanish collection.
Bishop Auckland Civic Society pressed the commissioners not to sell and was joined by The Northern Echo in a campaign to keep the Zurburans in the North-East.
The public are invited to the talk, by former Bowes Musem curator Elizabeth Conran, at the civic society meeting, at 8pm in Bishop Auckland Town Hall.
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