Picasso yacht seizure
August 10 2015
Picture: Guardian
Here's a curious story - a picture by Picasso apparently valued at EUR25m has been seized on a yacht in French waters. The picture is subject to a Spanish export ban, on account of its cultural importance in Spain. But it was seized by French customs officers, who found with it a document from the Spanish government refusing its export. Oops.
That said, regular readers will remember that sometimes these 'illegal export' stories aren't always what they seem.
The Picasso in question belongs to Jaime Botin, part of the Santander banking dynasty. He bought the picture in 1977 outside Spain - and says it was never a part of Spain's artistic heritage. All of which is moot, for in Spain any picture that has been there for even a short period, and worth even one Euro, must apply for an export licence - which can be denied on any grounds.
Anyway, the moral of the story surely is - don't keep a Picasso on your yacht.
Update - ABC News reports that:
Mr Botin, 79, had been trying since 2012 to obtain authorisation to export the painting, but the culture ministry refused because there was "no similar work on Spanish territory" from the same period in Picasso's life.
In other words, the Spanish authorities decided to keep the picture in Spain simply because they liked it, and thought that there should be a picture from that period of Picasso's life retained in Spain. It has effectively been nationalised.
