PABLO PICASSO'S "CHILD WITH A DOVE" LEAVES THE GREAT BRITAIN

     "Child with a Dove" by Pablo Picasso departs from England in Qatar! Approximately with such headings came out a number of European newspapers this week. One of the most important early Picasso works had been acquired by Qatar for $ 77 mln, and follows works by Mark Rothko and Paul Cezanne. 

     "Child with a Dove", which has been in the UK since 1924, was described by Arts Council England as one of the “probably the most famous work by Picasso in a UK collection”. It marks the move into the artist's Blue Period. 


     Following the private sale of the work last year the Government put in place a temporary export bar following advice from The Reviewing Committee, an independent body administered by the Arts Council. Yet the ban expired in December, without any British institution able to raise the money to keep it in Britain.
     The painting is currently on display in The Courtauld Gallery's exhibition "Becoming Picasso: Paris 1901".  After May 27, when the exhibition ends, it will return to Christie's, which organised the private sale, before moving on. The auction house declined to comment on the movements of the painting after it returns. After confirmation of the sale the work will take a place of honor in the second half of Top-50 most expensive paintings in the world.
    
    Philip Hoffman, chief executive of the Fine Art Fund, said: “Qatar is one of the top three buyers in the world at the moment, and they have huge resources. Qatar has made a huge commitment to making itself the hub of the art market in the Middle East. They are building incredible museums and an incredible art collection.”  While Qatar has become a powerhouse in the market in the past few years, it has repeatedly declined to confirm which artworks it has bought. Earlier acquisitions were well-known "The Card Players" by Paul Cezanne for $ 250 mln. in 2012, "White Center" Mark Rothko for $ 72.8 mln. in 2007, the artworks of Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Richard Serra. Specialists estimate that the volume of imports artworks by Qatar for the period from 2005 to 2013 totaled about a billion dollars.