Who is behind the great stately home art sell-off
A large number of major works of art are now being sold by aristocratic British owners (see p1). All come from stately homes, most of which are open to the public. The list of major works is worth around £80m; add in lesser works and those being marketed discreetly, and the total could exceed £100m.
Duke of Devonshire
One of the surprise sales is from Chatsworth, a £10m bronze relief of Ugolino Imprisoned with his Sons and Grandsons (around 1549, right), by Leonardo’s nephew Pierino da Vinci. The sculpture entered the Devonshire collection in 1764 and has been on public view at Chatsworth (Derbyshire) since 1833. Although admitting that any sales are unfortunate, the Chatsworth House Trust told us it is to “allow for responsible, long-term estate planning”. A £14m refurbishment of the house has also recently been completed. The Duke of Devonshire is deputy chairman of Sotheby’s, so it is assumed the auction house handled the £10m private sale to the Prince of Liechtenstein, for his museum in Vienna.
A UK export licence has been initially deferred until 13 September. Once a sale was agreed with the prince, Chatsworth was obliged to give three months’ notice to UK collections, because the Pierino had been conditionally exempt from inheritance tax. It failed to do this, so if a UK buyer expresses serious interest in matching the export price, then the second deferral period will include an additional three months, to 13 June 2011....
Read entire article at The Art Newspaper
Duke of Devonshire
One of the surprise sales is from Chatsworth, a £10m bronze relief of Ugolino Imprisoned with his Sons and Grandsons (around 1549, right), by Leonardo’s nephew Pierino da Vinci. The sculpture entered the Devonshire collection in 1764 and has been on public view at Chatsworth (Derbyshire) since 1833. Although admitting that any sales are unfortunate, the Chatsworth House Trust told us it is to “allow for responsible, long-term estate planning”. A £14m refurbishment of the house has also recently been completed. The Duke of Devonshire is deputy chairman of Sotheby’s, so it is assumed the auction house handled the £10m private sale to the Prince of Liechtenstein, for his museum in Vienna.
A UK export licence has been initially deferred until 13 September. Once a sale was agreed with the prince, Chatsworth was obliged to give three months’ notice to UK collections, because the Pierino had been conditionally exempt from inheritance tax. It failed to do this, so if a UK buyer expresses serious interest in matching the export price, then the second deferral period will include an additional three months, to 13 June 2011....