Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest: Note of case hearing on 18 July 2012: A painting by Pablo , Child with a (Case 3, 2012-13)

Application

1. The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA) met on 18 July 2012 to consider an application to export a painting by , Child with a Dove. The value shown on the export licence application was £50,000,000, which represented the sale price. The expert adviser had objected to the export of the painting under the first, second and third Waverly criteria i.e. on the grounds that it was so closely connected with our history and national life that its departure would be a misfortune, that it was of outstanding aesthetic importance and that it was of outstanding significance for the study of the birth of modernism and the reception of modernism in the UK.

2. The seven regular RCEWA members present were joined by three independent assessors, acting as temporary members of the Reviewing Committee.

3. The applicant confirmed that the value did include VAT and that VAT would be payable in the event of a UK sale. The applicant also confirmed that the owner understood the circumstances under which an export licence might be refused and that, if the decision on the licence was deferred, the owner would allow the painting to be displayed for fundraising.

Expert’s submission

4. The expert had provided a written submission stating that the painting, Child with a Dove, was one of the earliest and most important works by Picasso to enter a British collection. The painting was a key work within the development of Picasso’s art and marked the start of the artist’s celebrated ‘Blue Period’, which dated from the early autumn of 1901. Around this time, Picasso moved away from the Impressionistic style he was employing around the turn of the century, simplified the composition and flattened perspective. The simplified design and coarse brushwork were derived from the work of Van Gogh and Gauguin.

5. The painting was acquired in 1924 by Mrs R. A. Workman, a keen collector of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings. In 1926 Mrs Workman lent the painting to the newly built ‘Modern Foreign Galleries’, Opening Exhibition, at the Tate Gallery. Its display at Tate constituted the earliest official ‘national’ recognition of the Spanish artist’s importance. In 1928 Mrs Workman sold the painting to Samuel Courtauld, the most important British collector of modern French art of the period, who co-founded the Courtauld Institute of Art, the first British institute devoted to the study of the History of Art. During the 1930s Samuel Courtauld gave a number of works from his collection to the Courtauld Institute and bequeathed most of the remainder of the collection to the Institute on his death in 1947. However, a few works were reserved for close friends and family and the Picasso was

bequeathed to Lady Aberconway (née Christabel McNaughten, wife of Henry McLaren, 2nd Baron Aberconway). In 1974 the painting was placed on long- term loan to the where it remained on permanent display until 2010. The painting has thus been at the centre of Britain’s national collection for almost forty years, in one of the world’s finest and most concentrated displays of art from the 1880-1900 period. The image of Child with a Dove was iconic and hugely popular: National Gallery records show that it had consistently been one of its ten top-selling postcards.

6. Finally, the expert adviser stated that the majority of major works from Picasso’s early years were in institutional collections, particularly in America, France and Spain. As the exhibition Picasso and Modern British Art (Tate Britain, February – July 2012) made clear, British museums, galleries and collectors were slow to show interest in Picasso’s work and most of the great works that were in UK collections are now abroad. Child with a Dove’s long, uninterrupted history in a British collection meant that it was of enormous interest to the study of British collecting in the 20th century. There were just five early oil paintings by Picasso in UK public collections and Child with a Dove filled an important gap between Picasso’s more derivative impressionistic works, represented by paintings at Tate (Flowers, 1901), the Ashmolean Oxford (Blue Roofs, Paris, 1901) and Glasgow Art Gallery (The Flower Seller, 1901) and the two slightly later Blue Period works at Edinburgh (Mother and Child, 1902) and Tate (Girl in a Chemise, c.1905).

Applicant’s submission

7. The applicant had stated in a written submission that they did not contest that the Waverley criteria applied. Additionally, the applicant asked that the decision on the export licence application be deferred for only a short period of time because of the unlikeliness of a purchaser coming forward. The picture had been offered to UK museums prior to this export licence application.

Discussion by the Committee

8. The expert adviser and the applicant retired and the Committee discussed the case. There was some discussion as to how closely the painting was connected with our history and national life. It was agreed that this was always a difficult point to establish when considering 20th century works. However, this painting had been on public display since 1974, in one of the most popular collection of paintings housed in one of the most popular art galleries in the UK. The fact that the image had consistently been in the top ten selling postcards at the National Gallery demonstrated how accessible and popular the painting was amongst the general public. Furthermore, the painting’s long, uninterrupted history in a British collection, together with the Courtauld connection, made it of great importance to national heritage.

Waverley Criteria

9. The Committee voted on whether the painting met the Waverley criteria. Of the ten Committee members, nine members voted that it met the first Waverley criterion. Seven members voted that it met the second criterion. All ten

members voted that it met the third Waverley criterion. The painting was therefore found to meet the first, second and third Waverley criteria, i.e. on the grounds that it was so closely connected with our history and national life that its departure would be a misfortune, that it was of outstanding aesthetic importance and that it was of outstanding significance for the study of Picasso’s early works and artistic development and British collecting of European avant- garde in the first decades of the 20th century.

Matching offer

10. The Committee recommended the sum of £50,000,000 (inclusive of VAT) as a fair matching price.

Deferral period

11. The Committee agreed to recommend to the Secretary of State that the decision on the export licence should be deferred for an initial period of four months. If, within that period, Arts Council England received notification of a serious intention to raise funds with a view to making an offer to purchase the painting, the Committee recommended that there should be a further deferral period of six months.

Communication of findings

12. The expert adviser and the applicant returned. The Chairman notified them of the Committee’s decision on its recommendations to the Secretary of State. The applicant confirmed that the owner would accept a matching offer at the price recommended by the Committee if the decision on the licence was deferred by the Secretary of State.