Great Britain is looking for a buyer for Picasso’s painting "A Baby Holds a Dove"

British Minister of Culture Ed Vaizey imposed a temporary ban on the export of the painting “A Child Holding a Dove” (Child Holding a Dove, 1901) by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), BBC News reports. This year, the canvas, which was shown in various British museums from 1974 to 2011, was sold to a private collection at Christie’s auction.

The ban, which expires in December 2012, was issued on the grounds that the painting has great cultural and historical significance for the UK. Government officials hope that by the end of the year, some of the country’s museums will be able to raise enough money to buy back work.

The initial assessment of the painting "The Child Holds a Dove" before the auction was about $ 80 million, what is the price for which the painting was bought at the auction, it is not known for certain.

According to experts, the picture is too expensive for museums in the UK, and, even together, they are unlikely to afford to buy it. But if by December this year, the willingness to buy a masterpiece remains, the temporary ban on exports can be extended for another six months.

“The child holds a dove” has long been in various private collections in the UK, starting in 1924. In 1947, Lady Christabel Eberconi (1890-1970) received the work of Picasso from the industrialist and art collector Samuel Courtauld (1876-1947), who, in turn, bought it in 1928 at an exhibition in the National Gallery in London (National Gallery). From the beginning of this year to July 15, the painting “A Baby Holds a Dove” was part of the Picasso and Modern British Art exhibition in the Tate Britan Gallery. Today, the work, considered one of the first examples of the so-called “blue period” of the Spanish artist, written by him at the age of 19, is temporarily in Scotland.

A few days ago, British media reported that six months after the ban on export of the painting “Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus” (Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus, 1868) by French artist Edouard Manet (1832-1883), it was bought by the Eshmolov Art Museum of Oxford University (The Ashmolean Museum), for 7830 thousand pounds and remained in the UK.

Anna Sidorova