Funding silence pushed Chagall deal
Government ignored appeal, documents say
OTTAWA • The National Gallery of Canada moved forward with the sale of a Marc Chagall painting to purchase another artwork only after appealing to the federal government for financial help two years ago, and getting no response, access documents reveal.
After writing to thenheritage minister Mélanie Joly in 2016, the gallery’s director says, he didn’t even get an answer.
At the time, the gallery was trying to buy a major painting in Quebec, called Saint Jerome Hears the Trumpet of the Last Judgment, to prevent it from being sold abroad. It ended up trying to sell a piece by Chagall to raise money to buy Saint Jerome.
Documents received through an access to information request now show how the decision to sell Chagall’s Eiffel Tower flowed from many factors — a church in need of roof repairs, a futile search for rich donors, and a cold shoulder from the government.
In the end, the Chagall stayed put. The gallery stopped trying to buy the painting of Saint Jerome, as Quebec stepped in to decree it would stay in the province due to its cultural importance. There was no need to sell the Chagall.
It was in October 2016 that the gallery’s director, Marc Mayer, wrote to Joly, telling her of “exceptional circumstances.”
Mayer describes the painting of Saint Jerome, done in 1779, as a “major work by the leader of the French school in the age of neo-classicism.” He warns that the painting’s owners, Notre Dame de Québec Parish in Quebec City, may sell it in a New York auction. He believes it would be a good fit for the National Gallery.
Mayer includes a long, illustrated history and evaluation of the work in the context of Jacques-Louis David’s life and the art of 18th-century France and Italy. There’s one catch, he writes: money. He lists two estimated prices for the David painting, which are redacted in the access documents.
“Although our institution is given a generous annual acquisition budget of $8 million, this sum would exceed our capacities” to make the purchase, he writes.
He asks to meet Joly and discuss this problem. Though sections of the letter are blacked out in the publicly released version, there does not appear to be a direct request for cash. But it is clear his goal is to buy the David painting and he doesn’t have enough money.
His request stalled. A year later, Mayer told colleagues he never heard back from Joly.
In an email to two senior officials at Canadian Heritage in December 2017, he lays out the events leading to the decision to sell one of the gallery’s two Chagalls.
“Our letter to the Minister of October 17, 2016 on this matter was unanswered,” he writes. “Moreover, we have been unable to find a (private) donor to acquire the work for us.
“Having exhausted other avenues, we are very pleased that our Trustees have agreed to our plan.” This refers to the unanimous board of trustees decision to sell Chagall’s Eiffel Tower.
He adds that “the Archbishop is now contacting Rome for permission to sell the David.”
Canadian Heritage had not answered a request for comment by late Wednesday afternoon.
The root cause of the whole episode also emerges in Mayer’s email. It will strike a familiar note with any congregation: The church needed money to fix the roof.