News:
Hermitage Held Back Rousseau Paintings From Tate Modern Show
Bloomberg 6 December 2005
The State Hermitage Museum refused to send art works to a Henri Rousseau exhibit at the Tate Modern in London because the Culture Ministry banned loans to countries that don't guarantee immunity in third-party disputes.
``Our paintings were not sent to London because the Tate can't give the state guarantee that we require,'' Hermitage director Mikhail Piotrovsky said yesterday in an interview in St. Petersburg. ``Our Culture Ministry will not give permission to loan to English museums or to any museum in any country that doesn't provide the necessary guarantee.''
The policy resulted from a dispute in which a Swiss court impounded 54 paintings belonging to the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow on Nov. 15 in a dispute between a Swiss company and the Russian government. The art was released the following day after the Russian government protested.
The Tate said in a press statement that no Hermitage Rousseau paintings were in the exhibit when it opened on Nov. 3.
Piotrovsky said the Hermitage Rooms, a London project with the Courtauld Institute of Art, probably wouldn't be affected.
``Together with the Courtauld, we're negotiating with the British government to obtain the necessary guarantee,'' he said. ``We're confident that in this case we'll reach agreement.''
The Hermitage's next exhibit at the Courtauld, ``The Road to Byzantium: Luxury Arts of Antiquity,'' opens March 30.
``We are aware of the need to provide a guarantee of immunity from seizure for art loaned to U.K. exhibitions from Russia and discussions are in progress,'' Deborah Swallow, Courtauld Institute director, said in a press statement.
Russia will continue to loan art to the U.S., Germany, France, Japan and Finland because these countries' governments do provide the necessary guarantee of immunity, he said.
www.bloomberg.com
The State Hermitage Museum refused to send art works to a Henri Rousseau exhibit at the Tate Modern in London because the Culture Ministry banned loans to countries that don't guarantee immunity in third-party disputes.
``Our paintings were not sent to London because the Tate can't give the state guarantee that we require,'' Hermitage director Mikhail Piotrovsky said yesterday in an interview in St. Petersburg. ``Our Culture Ministry will not give permission to loan to English museums or to any museum in any country that doesn't provide the necessary guarantee.''
The policy resulted from a dispute in which a Swiss court impounded 54 paintings belonging to the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow on Nov. 15 in a dispute between a Swiss company and the Russian government. The art was released the following day after the Russian government protested.
The Tate said in a press statement that no Hermitage Rousseau paintings were in the exhibit when it opened on Nov. 3.
Piotrovsky said the Hermitage Rooms, a London project with the Courtauld Institute of Art, probably wouldn't be affected.
``Together with the Courtauld, we're negotiating with the British government to obtain the necessary guarantee,'' he said. ``We're confident that in this case we'll reach agreement.''
The Hermitage's next exhibit at the Courtauld, ``The Road to Byzantium: Luxury Arts of Antiquity,'' opens March 30.
``We are aware of the need to provide a guarantee of immunity from seizure for art loaned to U.K. exhibitions from Russia and discussions are in progress,'' Deborah Swallow, Courtauld Institute director, said in a press statement.
Russia will continue to loan art to the U.S., Germany, France, Japan and Finland because these countries' governments do provide the necessary guarantee of immunity, he said.
www.bloomberg.com
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