Sir John Paul Getty II never sought publicity for his donations

He donated millions to various galleries and institutes but rarely sought publicity for the money he gave away.

Among the beneficiaries was the National Gallery in London, which received �50m in 1985 to support its bid to buy national treasures.

A statement from the gallery said: "The trustees, director and staff of the National Gallery are deeply saddened to hear of the death of Sir Paul Getty, one of the greatest benefactors that this country has ever known."

The large donation allowed the gallery to acquire major masterpieces such as Caravaggio's Boy Bitten by a Lizard and Poussin's The Finding of Moses.

The National Gallery was also able to purchase Bermejo's St Michael and the Devil, and Holbein's Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling, ensuring they remained in the UK.

Benefactor

Known as Sir Paul, the philanthropist was also a great supporter of the British Film Institute, which is now considering the best way to commemorate his life.

The organisation received between �40m and �50m over 20 years.

Anthony Minghella paid tribute to Sir Paul

Adrian Wootton, acting director of the BFI, said: "He was the most important single benefactor the BFI has had in its history.

"Without him much of our work wouldn't be possible. He gave very generously millions to support our work, particularly in building and running our archive.

"We owe him a huge debt of gratitude and I am sure we will be arranging some type of memorial for him."

Sir Paul was a visitor to the BFI, which promotes film education and heritage, and continued to keep up-to-date with its work after his health began to fail.

Childhood passion

Mr Wootton added: "He was a very passionate man about art, film and, of course, cricket, which he loved more than anything.

The National Gallery received �50m from Sir John Paul Getty II

"Film was something that had obviously been a passion for him since childhood and when he saw the opportunity to support the BFI he jumped at it."

BFI chair Anthony Minghella called Sir Paul's death a "tremendous and incalculable loss".

Rolling Stones singer Sir Mick Jagger also paid tribute.

He said: "Paul was a quirky and very generous man. His lifelong interests varied from books and opera to cricket and he was passionate about all of them. He will be greatly missed."

Sir Paul inherited his love of art from his father John Paul Getty, who opened his own museum in Malibu.

He left $700m (�444m) in oil stocks to the Getty Museum following his death in 1976, allowing it to open the Getty Centre in Los Angeles as an institute for art conservation, education, research and technological information.

Sir John Paul Getty II's son Mark Getty has also become a generous giver to the arts in the UK, donating �10m to the National Gallery in 2001.