U.K. Imposes Temporary Ban On Turner's Painting Export
Shaveta Bansal - All Headline News Staff Writer London, UK (AHN) - Britain's culture ministry has imposed a temporary ban on the export of JMW Turner's painting to allow time to country's art institutions to buy the watercolor of "outstanding aesthetic importance." The 1842 painting - named "Blue Rigi" -which features a Swiss landscape was purchased by an anonymous buyer for a record amount at an auction earlier this year. The new owner is believed to want to sell the work to another buyer in the United States. The ban currently that will last for two months could be extended until March 2007 if any of the institutions shows an interest and needs time to raise the funds. U.K. Culture Minister David Lammy placed the bar on the painting after a recommendation from the reviewing committee on the export of works of art and objects of cultural interest, an independent body which advises the government on such issues. The committee made the decision on the grounds that the artwork had "outstanding significance for the study of the work of JMW Turner." Earlier this year, Tate Britain gallery failed to secure another painting in the series, "The Dark Rigi." The gallery already owns Turner's preparatory sketches for his Rigi series, which features Lake Lucerne and the Rigi Mountains. London, UK (AHN) - Britain's culture ministry has imposed a temporary ban on the export of JMW Turner's painting to allow time to coun |
