LONDON—A Rubens sketch for the ceiling of the Banqueting Hall in Whitehall Palace is to remain in the U.K. after the Tate Gallery, aided by last-minute interventions of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, Tate members, and The Art Fund, acquired the work just ahead of a September 30 deadline.

The owner of The Apotheosis of James I, whose family has owned the work for over two centuries, also agreed to waive £300,000 from the asking price of £6 million ($10.3 million). If the deal had not been completed, the work would have been sold at auction.

According to a Tate press release, the fund-raising campaign was launched in March 2008 in close partnership with the Art Fund, which granted £500,000 and, later, an additional £100,000 to help complete the deal. It is the largest gift the fund has granted toward a single work of art. The largest donor was the National Heritage Memorial Fund, which granted £2 million in July and then a further £221,000 to reach the £5.7 million figure on Sept. 30. Tate members contributed an additional £1.5 million; it is the largest contribution made by Tate members towards an acquisition.

Stephen Deuchar, director of Tate Britain said: “I am simply thrilled that the Rubens sketch has been saved for the nation and that it will now hang on permanent display at Tate Britain. This is the first Rubens work to enter Tate’s collection and is a unique treasure in the history of British art.”