A £35 MILLION Rembrandt that has been in Britain for 250 years could go to a new home overseas unless a last-ditch effort to find a UK buyer succeeds.
The Government has placed a temporary ban on the export of the Portrait Of Catrina Hooghsaet in an effort to find a buyer who can raise the funds needed to keep the painting in the UK.
The export ban will give a potential buyer in the UK until February 15 next year to come forward to secure the Dutch master’s work.
Catrina Hooghsaet was a wealthy Amsterdam resident who, at the time of the painting, was married but separated from her husband. The painting reflects her marital status as, instead of her estranged husband, she is accompanied by her pet parrot – who featured in her will.
The portrait, painted in 1657, is one of the best-known Rembrandt works in the UK. It has been on loan and on public display at the National Museum of Wales, the National Trust’s Penrhyn Castle – for which it was bought in 1860 – and most recently at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.
Culture Minister Ed Vaizey said: “This Rembrandt painting has been enjoyed by the UK public for more than 250 years and provides a fascinating glimpse into history, helping us to better understand how society and art have evolved over the centuries.
“It’s important that paintings, especially one as famous as this, are available for our students to learn from.
“I hope that the temporary export bar I have put in place will result in a UK buyer coming forward to buy the Rembrandt painting to save it for the nation.”
The identity of the painting’s seller has been kept confidential. and the decision to defer granting an export licence for the portrait followed a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA), administered by Arts Council England.
The RCEWA made their recommendation on the grounds of the painting’s close association with our history and national life, its outstanding aesthetic importance and its outstanding significance for the study of Rembrandt’s art and in particular his late works.
RCEWA member Aidan Weston-Lewis said: “This is an exceptional portrait of a fascinating sitter, about whom there is still much to be discovered. Its departure abroad would be particularly unfortunate in view of its long presence in the UK, notably in Wales, which currently has no publicly-owned painting by Rembrandt.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel