Bernardo Strozzi painting for sale at Compton Verney gallery

The deaccession of The Incredulity of St Thomas, a painting by Bernardo Strozzi, was cleared for sale by both the Arts Council and the Museums Association.

The painting, dating to the early 1620s and worth around £2.5m, will be sold by the country-house gallery Compton Verney in Warwickshire.

Strozzi's work was bought at Sotheby’s in 1998 for £1.3m, with funds from Sir Peter Moores, before he opened the gallery to the public in 2004.

“Every effort will be made to keep the work in the UK and in the public sphere, and any amount raised will be used exclusively for future acquisitions at Compton Verney.” a gallery spokesman said.