Another chance to buy Coello's portrait of Don Diego
February 4 2014
Picture: DCMS
A portrait by Coello of Philip II's son, Don Diego, has been temporarily barred from export from the UK. The matching price to raise, should a UK buyer be interested, is £4.25m. The picture belongs to the Prince of Liechtenstein, and the last time he tried to export it there was a tremendous hoo ha, leading in part to the cancellation of a Liechtenstein collection show at the Royal Academy. It is thought that the National Gallery may be interested in the picture. More here.
Update - A reader writes:
Why do the committee not let this one go? I cannot think of it's relevance to British history or find it to be an exciting example of portraiture to make it's mark in a UK national collection. The public lost out by by the cancellation of the Lichtenstein show.
