The UK government has placed an export bar on a key painting by the 17th-century French artist Claude Lorrain valued at £9m. The work, Landscape with Rural Dance (around 1640), has been part of the collection of the Dukes of Bedford at Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire since the late-18th century.
The decision on the export licence application for the painting will be deferred initially until 15 April, allowing time for a UK gallery or institution to acquire the painting (the work is at risk of leaving the UK unless a domestic buyer can be found to save it for the nation).
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) says the painting has a recommended price of £9m (plus VAT of £1,640,000, which can be reclaimed by an eligible institution). “Renowned as one of Claude Lorrain’s masterpieces, the scene draws on popular poetic themes of an idealised location removed from urban life, populated by shepherds and other rural figures,” says a DCMS statement.
Bedford Estates, which oversees Woburn Abbey, confirmed that the painting is for sale. “[The trustees] are selling a significant painting by the renowned French artist Claude Lorrain. This decision comes as part of the ongoing efforts to support the extensive refurbishment and conservation projects at Woburn Abbey, which have been underway since 2019,” a spokesperson says. The sale is a strategic move to ensure the continued preservation and enhancement of the abbey's collection, she added.
Christopher Baker—an art historian who is a member of the reviewing committee on the export of works of art and objects of cultural interest, which advises the government—said in a statement: "Because of [the painting's] transcendent beauty and fascinating history, which warrants further research, as well as the profound influence of such paintings on British taste, every effort should be made to secure it for a public collection.”
