The Art Newspaper

Constable's The Lock, 1824, fetched an eye-watering £22.4m (with buyer's premium) at Christie's in London yesterday following a media frenzy. The work was owned by Baroness Thyssen-Bornemisza who said she needs the money to care for her collection. The Lock, meanwhile, had been on loan to the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid since 1992. But two of the museum's trustees objected to the sale: Francesca von Habsburg, the stepdaughter of the Baroness, and Norman Rosenthal, formerly of the Royal Academy in London (he has since resigned as trustee). "Francesca has sold off family paintings, including an American picture that I bought back at an auction in New York some years ago," quipped the Baroness, the widow of Hans Heinrich. But will the Baroness sell any more works? Half of her collection, or 400 works, is on loan to the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza under an arrangement with the Spanish state. The Baroness told the ministry of culture that she will not sell further paintings. When The Art Newspaper asked whether this represents a firm commitment, she responded: "Absolutely."

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