YORK Art Gallery has launched a campaign to raise £3.6 million to purchase a picture by a top Victorian artist for the city.

The gallery, which is currently showing more than 30 works by Albert Moore, wants to buy A Revery.

It says the painting saw the York-born artist at the height of his powers, and it was considered to be his most significant work still in private hands.

A gallery spokesman said the work depicted a young woman, relaxed in pose, deep in thought. “She is draped in apricot and fawn and wears a double row of beads and a cap,” he said.

“Every means have been taken to create a light and airy setting. She sits in an Indian chair of carved ivory, elaborately inlaid with ebony and mother of pearl. The foreground is dotted with vases or bowls of flowers, while the background is filled with a folded screen covered with a patterned fabric of Moore’s own design.”

Laura Turner, senior curator of art, said: “Albert Moore was an incredible artist and A Revery is one of his most significant later works. The subject is a young woman pictured alert but lost in thought, her classical attire typical of many of the artist’s work.

“But the levels of complexity and the technical skill displayed show Moore at his most confident and at the peak of his ability.

“This is a rare opportunity for a public collection to acquire such a significant painting by Moore and it would mean York Art Gallery would become the permanent home to one of his most outstanding works. It would also allow us to secure a significant part of York’s artistic heritage to be enjoyed by visitors for years to come.”

The spokesman said the gallery’s fundraising team hoped to raise most of the money by applying to bodies such as the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Art Fund but public donations were welcome.