Cézanne the day!
Donor tops up State contribution to secure €2m masterpiece by French impressionist
THE National Gallery requested €2m from the Government to buy a painting by artist Paul Cézanne and was eventually given €1.85m in State funding for the purchase, Freedom of Information records show.
But the enormous public outlay was not the full price paid for the artwork, with the gallery also paying a small portion of the cost, which was topped up by a ‘major private philanthropic donation’.
La Vie Des Champs (or Life in the Fields) is the first painting by French artist Paul Cézanne to form part of the National Gallery’s collection.
Both the Department of Culture and the National Gallery of Ireland (NGI) have refused to provide any further detail on what the final bill for the painting was, saying the generous benefactor was given ‘strict assurances’ the donation would be kept
‘wholly confidential’.
In internal discussions, the gallery said they had been able to negotiate a ‘discount’ but the purchase of the item was completely contingent on State support.
An email sent to directors of the National Gallery late last year said: ‘We are seeking a contribution from Government for €2m. We have been advised that this request is currently on the minister’s desk and is being seriously considered. There is a chance that the gallery will be asked to make a modest contribution to the price but this is not expected to exceed €150,000.’
The painting had previously been sold for around $1.45m (€1.32m) in April 2018.
Board members of the NGI were contacted to ask if they approved of the purchase with resounding support from all of them.
Gallery chairperson Mary Keane said it was an ‘amazing opportunity’ while OPW chair Maurice Buckley said it was ‘very exciting’. Another internal email said the purchase would be a ‘major coup for the gallery and for the country’.
A briefing for Arts Minister Catherine Martin said the price was beyond the normal resources of the National Gallery but they expected the painting to establish itself as a ‘highlight’ of the national art collection. Another briefing to Ms Martin said it would be a ‘transformative’ acquisition and although not ‘among the most acclaimed works’ of Cézanne, it was still a ‘great step forward’ for the NGI to own any of the artist’s paintings.
Asked about the purchase, a spokesman for the Department said: ‘[It] is a significant addition to
the national collection and is the first painting by Cézanne on public display in Ireland. Given Cézanne’s enduring impact in the history of Western art, it is expected that the painting will establish itself as a highlight of the National Gallery.’