Mystery over origins of Howard Hodgkin’s Indian art collection could see it lost to UK

Ashmolean in Oxford turned down chance to buy exquisite paintings and drawings, which may now go to New York

Indian paintings and drawings had been his lifelong passion and, before his death in 2017, the artist Sir Howard Hodgkin hoped that his collection would be acquired by the Ashmolean in Oxford - only for the museum to reject his offer amid concerns that some of the works should never have left India.

Now Britain's loss could be America's gain. Trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York have discussed the possibility of acquiring works thought to be worth more than 7.2m. The collection contains more than 120 exquisite paintings and drawings dating from the 16th to the 19th centuries.