Landseer's 'Monarch of the Glen' to be sold (ctd.)

November 17 2016

Picture: BBC

The sale of Landseer's famous 'Monarch of the Glen' at Christie's in December has been halted. It has now been offered to the National Galleries of Scotland for £4m. The upper estimate at Christie's, while not made public, was thought to have been £10m. The NGS has launched an appeal.

I can't quite understand what Diageo, who own the picture, are playing at. Either they need the money or they don't. They planned to sell it because it no longer served any purpose for the core business, they said. But then it transpired that there would be a PR price to pay if the picture ended up overseas. All of which was very predictable. And indeed I am told that senior voices within the company said as much before the decision was made. 

So now they've decided to withdraw the painting (one wonders if they've paid the usual hefty fees associated with this, I presume so), and offered the picture to the NGS for a bargain price. But the thing is Diageo still looks mean, and as having no regard for Scottish heritage. £4m is just over .13% of last year's total profits of £3billion. It's the sort of decision that only some soulless management person could make. They should either give it to the NGS outright or let it stay there on long term loan. 

Update - a reader writes:

Under the Cultural Gifts Scheme, Diageo can claim 20 % of the value of a gift as a tax deduction. On the reported valuation of £10 million for the Landseer, this would be £2 million. They have apparently decided to give away half of the remaining value, and asked the NGS to find the balance of £4 million. Under the CGS, this must happen in the current tax year, hence, presumably, the deadline of April for the fund-raising. 

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