The Art Newspaper

Iceland waits for Francesca von Habsburg's art money

Collector says suitable building still to be found and offers no guarantee that project will finally happen

By Clemens Bomsdorf. Web only
Published online: 07 June 2010

Iceland wonders happened to Francesca von Habsburg's promised money

REYKJAVIK. Icelandic artists are waiting to discover what will happen to the money collector Francesca von Habsburg raised in order to support the island country's art scene.

“Having announced a…charity auction in our name, she has the responsibility to use the money as people were told and keep the public updated,” Olöf Nordal, one of the Icelandic artists behind the local Living Art Museum (Nylo) told The Art Newspaper.

In February 2009 several works from Von Habsburg's collection were auctioned at Phillips de Pury in London. “The sale total for these works combined with the results of the day sale works from this collection yielded a total sale result of £540,460 which will be invested in the production and presentation of contemporary art in Iceland,” said a statement from the auction house after the sale. Last spring Von Habsburg announced that she would relocate parts of her collection to Iceland and join forces with the Nylo, an artist-run museum which owns works by many Icelandic artists and by Swiss-German artist Dieter Roth, who spent many years on the island.

Von Habsburg told The Art Newspaper that the money could not be invested before a suitable space is found. “A building we have in our mind is owned by one of the collapsed banks,” she said. “But due to the economic situation they could not make a commitment for more than a year which is far too short for such a project. Therefore the money has not been used yet in Iceland.”

Von Habsburg says she hopes to build a public-private partnership for the project and is seeking a building at zero rent. She could not guarantee that the proposal would come to final fruition.