UK Arts Minister Stephen Parkinson has extended the export deferment period for Joshua Reynolds Portrait of Omai (circa 1776) for the third time, until June 10. The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in London therefore has what will probably be a final opportunity to raise the £50 million needed to match its export valuation. The painting, representing a Tahitian brought to London by Captain Cook, has belonged since 2001 to Dublin collector John Magnier.
THE previous deferral period expired on March 10 and behind the scenes there have been frantic discussions over the past week. Today (March 20), Parkinson agreed to an extension for Omaisaying he is now “all the more determined to ensure that we can preserve it for public display so that the widest possible audience can see it, enjoy it and learn from it”.
Today’s statement, issued jointly by the NPG, the Art Fund and the National Heritage Memorial Fund, says the Portrait Gallery raised “almost half” of the £50million, but finding the rest from UK donors is proving very difficult. Although its director, Nicholas Cullinan, has approached the government to ask for a special grant from the Treasury, so far the signs have been discouraging.
The latest postponement will allow further discussions with the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, which has been consider a joint purchase with the NPG. The idea is that each museum would collect half the money and exhibit the portrait half the time, possibly with a move every five years. However, this proposal is not directly addressed in today’s statement.
One of the obstacles to a joint acquisition with the Getty was reaching an agreement with the National Heritage Memorial Fund, which tentatively allocated a £10 million grant for a single UK purchase. The fund worried about government money for an artwork that would be in America half the time. However, there is an equally strong argument to be made that maintaining Omai in Britain on this shared basis would still benefit British gallery-goers and be better than losing the Reynolds altogether.
It is therefore significant that Simon Thurley, the chairman of the fund, now seems more favorable to a resolution. In February he said The arts journal: “It’s a new form of property, which raises complicated questions.” But today he commented: ‘We welcome the news that the government has extended the export ban deadline to allow more time to secure access to the work for the benefit of the UK public. .”
From Getty’s perspective, there are also obstacles. To opt for a joint purchase, the museum would need firm assurances from the UK authorities that temporary export licenses would still be available to allow Omai go to Los Angeles.
Jenny Waldman, director of the Art Fund (which has pledged £2.5million), said: “We have a unique opportunity to secure this work for the public and to generously welcome the government, this extra time allowing to collaborate on optimal ways to help make that happen.”
Cullinan, who describes the acquisition of Portrait of Omai as “one of the most important our nation will ever achieve”, is determined to do all he can to secure the painting so that it can be exposed when the NPG reopens after major renovation June 22.
