A Cézanne painting that has been on long-term loan to the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, is at risk of being exported unless the necessary funds can be raised by a UK buyer to secure its purchase. And with an asking price of £13,522,500, that might be easier said than done.
Vue sur L’Estaque et le Château d’If (View of L’Estaque and the Château d’If) has been in its current location for the last 29 years. Originally purchased by art collector Samuel Courtauld, it descended through his family until its sale in February of this year.
Now, in order to provide a last chance to keep it in the UK, culture minister Ed Vaizey has placed a temporary export bar on the painting.
Vaizey said: “For almost 30 years this quietly beautiful painting has adorned the walls of the Fitzwilliam Museum where it has been enjoyed by countless visitors. I hope that the temporary export bar I have put in place will result in a UK buyer coming forward and that the painting will soon be back on the walls of one of our great public collections.”
The latest development follows a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA), administered by Arts Council England.
RCEWA member Aidan Weston-Lewis said: “This is a rare opportunity to fill a significant gap in the UK’s otherwise impressive holdings of Cézanne’s work.”
The decision on the export licence application for the painting will be deferred for a period ending on 21 December 2015.
