When the system works
August 10 2012
Picture: Ashmolean
The Ashmolean's acquisition of Manet's Mademoisselle Claus has been most impressive. Normally a picture worth £28.4 million could never be afforded by a British institution (in fact, is it the most expensive acquisition to date?). However, the case has shown how the government system to help museums acquire paintings can work, if it is matched by a museum's enthusiasm and can-do attitude.
The bulk of the price is of course tax foregone by the Treasury (£20.6m), thanks to the Inheritance Tax Act of 1984, while the time to raise the necessary funds came courtesy of an export licence deferral of six months. A surprisingly large contribution of £5.9m for the remainder came from the Heritage Lottery Fund (well done them, keep it up please). Effectively, therefore, the picture was bought with £26.5m of state sourced funding, with the balance of £1.95m coming from the private sector; £850,000 from the Art Fund, and £1.1m from other donors. Many congratulations to all involved.
Meanwhile, in the LA Times report of the good news is this most curious sentence:
The halting of the painting's export caused some ruckus in the art world, with some people questioning why Britain should have a cultural claim to a work created by a French Impressionist painter.
