English Manuscript Unveiled in La

An important work of English art has gone on public display for the first time in 16 years - but anyone hoping to see the 13th-century illuminated manuscript, which left the UK in 1990, will have to visit the Getty Centre in Los Angeles.

The Getty, one of the richest private art institutions in the world, announced last week that it had bought the Northumberland Bestiary, described as one of the finest examples of English Gothic illustration. But the sale was private, and the amount the Getty paid for the 75-page work remained undisclosed.

The book has 112 colored ink drawings, and eight scenes of the creation. One shows Adam naming the beasts, from foxes to griffins.

"The English tradition is one of the greatest aesthetic traditions," said Thomas Kren, the Getty's curator of manuscripts. "This book shows the emergence of a kind of European naturalism. If you're going to tell the story of medieval manuscripts, this is the key work. It is the greatest English manuscript still in private hands."

On the purchase, Mr Kren said: "We don't talk about these things ... Great objects like this are rare. But I knew the seller and I've known him for years. It's a small world, the manuscript world. We're very excited."

When the manuscript was last put on sale, at auction in London by the Duke of Northumberland, it was subject to an export ban. But no serious offers were made above the £3.03m on offer from the US. The ban was dropped, and the book crossed the Atlantic.

It is unlikely that last month's sale would have presented a British institution with an opportunity to return the manuscript to the UK. One report said the Getty paid $20m (£10m). The Getty said this figure was incorrect - but nevertheless, it was likely to have been beyond the reach of Britain's public institutions. The British Museum spent £761,000 in total on acquisitions in 2004-05; the biggest buyer, the National Gallery, spent £6.3m.

Andrew Macdonald, the deputy director of the Art Fund, said: "Our institutions are hard-pressed to match the buying power of the Getty. Part of that is the ability of institutions abroad to leverage private philanthropy, the role of tax incentives and a different culture of giving."

The British Library owns one of the other key English Gothic illuminated manuscripts. Scot McKendrick, the library's head of western manuscripts, said: "The British Library is pleased that the Getty Museum has acquired the Northumberland Bestiary, as it will now be available to scholars and made accessible to the general public after being in a private collection since it was auctioned in 1990."

The Northumberland Bestiary, executed in 1250-1260, was probably made for the personal use of a wealthy individual. Records show that it was in Dorset at the start of the 16th century before entering the collection of the Fitzjames family. In the 18th century it reached Alnwick Castle as the property of the first wife of the Duke of Northumberland.