Countdown: four weeks to leave a picture of Manet in England Automatic translate

The Ashmolean Museum (Ashmolean, Oxford) has four weeks left to raise 595,000 pounds and save a portrait of Fanny Klaus (Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus, 1868) by Edouard Manet (1832-1883) for the public in Great Britain.

The portrait was sold to a foreign private buyer for 28.35 million pounds, but the British government imposed a ban on the export of paintings from the country until February 2012, in the hope that there would be a serious government agency, museum or gallery that would like to buy this painting for the country. Moreover, the repurchase can be made at a much lower price, namely 7.83 million pounds. The Ashmolean Museum took over the fundraising and achieved significant results in this matter (93% of the required amount was collected), which allowed the British government to extend the ban on the export of paintings until August. The main part of the amount, namely 5.9 million pounds, was allocated in the form of a grant by the British charity lottery fund "Heritage" (HLF). The British Art Fund (750,000 pounds) also donated money, and ordinary citizens of Great Britain, who collected a total of about half a million pounds, did not remain indifferent.

Manet was one of the greatest artists of the 19th century. During the life of the artist, his work caused a lot of controversy and often shocked the public, but always admired his colleagues. His popularity grew rapidly in the 20th century and, therefore, his best works were acquired by the largest museums in the world. Currently, only a very small part of the artist’s works is in private collections, almost all of his paintings are in museums in France, and only a few paintings of Manet are in the UK - at the National Gallery and Courtois Institute in London, as well as in Cardiff, Birmingham and Glasgow. In view of this, the UK is extremely interested in preserving the picture at home.

Anna Sidorova