More could be done to encourage private philanthropy, the government has been told, following what has been described as the largest and most imaginative gift of art made to museums in Britain.

Anthony d’Offay, a London-based gallery owner, has donated his collection of modern art, worth £125m ($247m), to be jointly owned and managed by the National Galleries of Scotland and the Tate galleries. In return, he received £26.5m, the original cost of the 725 art works, hailed as one of the most important collections of postwar and contemporary international art.