Tracey Emin's 'My Bed'

Charles Saatchi's £30 million art collection is still to find a home nearly two year since he gifted it to the nation.

It is considered one of the most important contemporary art collections in the world, featuring Tracey Emin’s bed and Grayson Perry’s pots.

It also includes Tragic Anatomies, the mutated mannequins by the Chapman brothers first seen at Saatchi’s Sensation exhibition in 1997, Richard Wilson’s oil room installation 20:50, Chinese Offspring by Zhang Dali featuring life-size naked figures strung up by their feet and Ghost by the Algerian artist Kader Attia, consisting of hundreds of praying figures made from aluminium foil.

Saatchi approached Jeremy Hunt, the Culture Secretary, who has made philanthropy central to arts policy and declared 2011 “a year of corporate philanthropy” after the Government cut funding for the arts by a third.

The former advertising guru-turned-collector emphasised the gift would be made freely and that he would receive no offset in lieu of taxes for the bequest.

Mr Hunt welcomed the offer, thanking Saatchi for his “incredible generosity” in proposing the Government take ownership of the works on behalf of the nation.

He said: “Charles Saatchi has built up a collection of huge international importance.

"His decision to gift these works to the nation is an act of incredible generosity and I’d like to thank him on behalf of the government ... this is an outstanding example of how Britain can benefit from individual acts of social responsibility.”

Mr Hunt suggested that the bequest be accepted by the Arts Council, the Government-funded national development agency for the arts, which oversees a collection of more than 7,000 modern and contemporary works.

Saatchi suggested his pieces could be lent to museums and galleries around the country, and in addition to the 200-strong core collection, the gift would include other works that could be sold to buy new acquisitions.

He also pledged to cover future costs of storage, insurance, maintenance and restoration.

But instead of welcoming the £30 million gift, officials at the Arts Council asked to select some works and discard others, prompting Saatchi to withdraw the offer.

A spokesman for Saatchi said: “Things didn’t work out with the Arts Council because they wanted to pick and choose from the gift, which we felt was a bit rude. Charles is still keen to make this gift to the nation.”

An Arts Council spokesman said: “Arts Council England was happy to be approached with regards to Charles Saatchi’s intention to donate his collection to the nation.

"We discussed all aspects of the proposals with the [Saatchi] gallery’s management to find a way of realising his ambitions, however no firm decision on the issue was reached.

"We remain very keen and willing to provide Mr Saatchi and his gallery with any advice or assistance they may want in the future.”

Saatchi’s spokesman said that the collection has also been offered on the same terms to the Government Art Collection (GAC), which supplies art for ministerial offices and official buildings in Britain and around the world.

The GAC has also embarked on an exhibition programme with shows at the Whitechapel Gallery in London, the Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery and the Ulster Museum in Belfast.

Its policy is to “accept donations and bequests at the discretion of the Advisory Committee”, which is chaired by the Julia Somerville, the broadcaster, and includes Sir Nicholas Serota, the Tate director, and Nicholas Penny, the director of the National Gallery.

The GAC currently has a two-year moratorium for purchasing new works until 2013/14, so the gift could provide it with a much-needed boost of fresh works.

A spokesman from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport said: “The Government very much welcomed the announcement by Charles Saatchi of his intention to gift his collection to the nation.

"Shortly after the announcement the Secretary of State met Mr Saatchi and DCMS officials had further discussions with his representatives.

^{Charles Saatchi is 'extremely disappointed' that the gift has not been accepted}

"We were clear at the time that we stand ready to help in any way we can when Mr Saatchi makes a decision about how best to proceed; that remains the case.

"There have been no specific discussions about transferring any of the works to the Government Art Collection.”

Saatchi, 69, also offered the collection to the Tate in the hope that Tate Modern, a major national museum with generous Government funding, would make an ideal home for the collection after his retirement.

But the offer was rejected by Sir Nicholas Serota, Tate’s director. The two men are known to have had a chequered relationship, with Saatchi once describing the Tate’s Turner Prize as “pseudo-controversial rehashed claptrap”.

A spokesman for the Tate said: “Charles sent Nick the list [of works] but as Charles was in discussions with others, we didn’t intervene.”

Saatchi, who is married to the cookery writer and broadcaster Nigella Lawson, has received several offers for the collection from international institutions, but is keen to keep the collection in the UK.

Many of the works have been displayed in successive incarnations of Saatchi galleries, including its current base in the former Duke of York’s barracks in Chelsea, which is owned by the Cadogan Estate.

In recent years, he has shown young and lesser-known artists at his gallery, who would not get exposure in other leading museums.

Saatchi is understood to be "extremely disappointed" that the gift has yet to be accepted but is considering plans to establish a foundation run by Saatchi Gallery representatives who would manage the works in the gift.