Buyer withdraws export application for Cranach portrait

Important work on temporary show in Toronto

By Martin Bailey | Web only
Published online 27 Nov 08

LONDON. An important Cranach portrait bought in London by Ken Thomson—the Canadian newspaper proprietor known as Lord Thomson in the UK—was unveiled at the Art Gallery of Ontario at its reopening on 14 November. A permanent UK export licence application for the work was submitted in July, but was then mysteriously withdrawn. The painting went to Toronto on a temporary licence and will have to be returned.

Lucas Cranach’s the Elder’s Portrait of a Lady had been in the collection of Julius Caesar Czarnikow, a sugar tycoon of Jewish-Polish origin who left Thuringia for London in 1854. Although unrecorded in the literature, the Cranach stayed with his descendants until 2004, when it was bought by Thomson. On his death two years ago it passed to his family.

The sitter in the portrait has recently been identified as Margaret of Anhalt, wife of John the Constant. It was probably done as a marriage portrait in 1513.

On 16 July the Export Reviewing Committee determined that the Cranach was important enough to have its export deferred, to enable a UK buyer to match the price. Immediately after this recommendation the Thomson agent withdrew the application, which is an unusual occurrence. The family then decided to send the Cranach to the Art Gallery of Ontario on a three-year loan, with a temporary licence.

Last month the Toronto gallery opened a new Frank Gehry-designed extension, with more than C$100m (US$81m) of the funding coming from Ken Thomson. The family collection of 2,000 artworks now occupies 30 of the gallery’s 110 rooms.