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Culture Minister defers export of portrait of British diplomat by Rosalba Carriera

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23 January 2008

Culture Minister Barbara Follett has placed a temporary export bar on a pastel portrait of the British diplomat Sir James Gray by Rosalba Carriera.  This will provide a last chance to raise the money to keep the portrait in the United Kingdom. 

The Minister’s ruling follows a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, administered by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. The Committee recommended that the export decision be deferred on the grounds that the portrait is of outstanding aesthetic importance and historical significance for the study of the influence of the Grand Tour on British taste.
 
Rosalba Carriera (1675-1757) was the pre-eminent pastelist of the early 18th century.  Born in Venice, she began her career as a lace-maker and moved on to painting miniatures on ivory, before adopting pastel as her preferred medium. She became internationally renowned as a portraitist and was much sought after by British travellers on the Grand Tour. Portrait of Sir James Gray is considered an exceptionally accomplished example of her pastel portraiture, and represents an important conjunction of a significant artist and a notable sitter. Although undated, it was probably made some time between 1744, when Gray arrived in Venice on his second visit, and 1746, when Carriera went blind.
 
Sir James Gray, 2nd Baronet (c. 1708-1773), was a British diplomat and antiquary whose postings included Venice, Naples, Rome and Madrid. Although he reached the top of the diplomatic service, it is as a cultural figure that he is best known. He was one of the founder members of the Society of Dilettanti, an organisation which embodied the significant influence that the Grand Tour of Italy had on British artistic taste. The rules of election to the club recognised the importance of the Grand Tour in the making of a connoisseur, although in its early days it was as much a drinking club as an arts club. 

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Lord Inglewood, Chairman of the Reviewing Committee, said: “Before Rosalba Carriera, pastel was seen as a cheaper alternative to oil painting. She demonstrated the full potential of this medium which led to its wider appreciation, and in doing so influenced many important British pastelists. This portrait of Sir James Gray is an understated masterpiece, still in excellent condition, and with a psychological intensity not found in her earlier works.”
 
The decision on the export licence application for the portrait will be deferred for a period ending on 22 March inclusive. This period may be extended until 22 June inclusive if a serious intention to raise funds with a view to making an offer to purchase the portrait at the recommended price of £641,978.65 (including VAT) is expressed.
 
Anyone interested in making an offer to purchase the portrait should contact the owner’s agent through:
         
The Secretary
The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest
Museums, Libraries and Archives Council,
Wellcome Wolfson Building
165 Queen’s Gate
South Kensington
London SW7 5HD
Telephone 020 7273 8270/8271

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Notes to editors

  1. Media enquiries on the operation of and casework arising from the work of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA) should  be directed to Senior Media Relations Adviser,  Sunita Sharma, on 020 7273 8299, email: sunita.sharma@mla.gov.uk.
  2. The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest is an independent body, serviced by MLA, which advises the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on whether a cultural object, intended for export, is of national importance under specified criteria. Where the Committee finds that an object meets one or more of the criteria, it will normally recommend that the decision on the export licence application should be deferred for a specified period. An offer may then be made from within the United Kingdom at or above the fair market price.
  3. Images of the portrait are available. Please email sunita.sharma@mla.gov.uk (MLA no longer subscribes to the PixMedia website service.)
  4. The details of the portrait are as follows: 

    • Rosalba Carriera (1675-1757)
    • Portrait of Sir James Gray (c. 1708-1773)
    • Pastel on paper
    • Painted about 1744/46

Press Enquiries: 020 7211 6052/6277
Out of hours telephone pager no: 07699 751153
Public Enquiries: 020 7211 6200

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