Is it a bird, is it a plane....?
October 21 2015
Picture: via Grumpyarthistorian
No - it's Super Art Woman lifting up a framed Rembrandt all by herself. And without White Gloves!
The Grumpy Art Historian says that the recent export block to save the above £35m Rembrandt is a mistake, and there are better ways of buying paintings:
The UK government has placed a temporary export block on Catrina Hooghsaet (above), which is being sold from Penrhyn Castle. The Telegraph reports that a private buyer has agreed to pay £35m plus sales tax of £660k. The painting is exempt from sales tax, so presumably £660k is due on agent's fees of £3.3m. UK buyers have until 15 February to register interest in buying the picture.
I hope no one does. The picture has been openly marketed for years; the Rijksmuseum came close to buying it. There was ample opportunity to negotiate a friendly deal without the need to pay millions to Sotheby's. I don't begrudge dealers' mark-ups or agents' fees, which are fairly earned in a competitive market. But British institutions have a woeful history of waiting until the last minute and then declaring a national emergency, when a bit of foresight would save millions. If anyone wanted it, the should have said so earlier. They will seem incompetent if they only raise their hands now.
I do hope an institution or two does make the effort to buy this work. It's true that the export system is not an ideal way for museums to buy art, and that it places a value on things that happen to already have been in the country for a long time. But in my view the UK has best export system in the world, one which fairly balances the rights of both 'the nation' and private owners.
