LONDON—Sixty British artists have written to the Times of London, calling for two revered Titian paintings to be saved for the nation, the newspaper reports.

Lucian Freud, Sir Peter Blake, Sir Anthony Caro, Antony Gormley, and David Hockney are among the signatories who hope that £50 million ($87 million) can be raised to help finance the joint purchase of Titian’s Diana and Actaeon and Diana and Callisto by the National Galleries of Scotland and the National Gallery in London. If the money cannot be raised by New Year’s Eve, the paintings may be sold on the open market.  

The works’ owner, the Duke of Sutherland, is offering them to the museums for £100 million. Experts estimate their market value is closer to £300 million.