Picasso's 'Child with Dove' - for sale, but you can't know the price.
March 15 2012
Picture: Courtauld/Tate
A while ago I revealed that one of Picasso's most iconic early paintings was being put up for sale. The 'guide price' advertised by the Arts Council is £50m, but because the picture is under a tax liability (that is, inheritance tax has been deferred, so must be paid when the picture is sold), nobody knows how much a museum would really have to pay to buy the work. Handily, the Treasury would write the tax balance off. So I asked the Arts Council what a museum would have to raise to keep the picture in the UK, but due to taxpayer confidentiality, we can't be told. Here is ACE's response:
Picasso’s Child With A Dove is an item granted conditional exemption from capital taxation and can be purchased by a public organisation (museum, gallery or archive) at a price that is beneficial to both public purchaser and private vendor – this being known as a Private Treaty Sale. The tax remitted value will be given to any Schedule 3 museum or gallery which is seriously interested in pursuing the purchase.
A similar current case is the Manet being pursued by the Ashmolean at the moment - they have to raise £7.8m - but in fact it is worth about £28m. My guess is that the Picasso would cost a UK museum considerably more - but it might just be doable. Let's hope so.
