Artist Ivan Krutoyarov - Painting with Russian Soul: PAUL GAUGUIN "WHEN WILL YOU MARRY?"

In early February 2015 the newspaper "The New York Times", referring to insider sources, reported: well-known "Rudolf Staechelin Family Foundation" sold the rarity of its rich collection - painting "When Will You Marry? (Nafea Faa Ipoipo)" by Paul Gauguin.

According to experts, the deal amounted to about $ 300 million and probably the buyer is the Emirate of Qatar. The painting became the most expensive ever sold in the world .

Paul Gauguin
When Will You Marry? (Nafea Faa Ipoipo). 1892
oil on canvas. 105Х77см.

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) - French painter Post-Impressionist. The most fruitful period of Gauguin's creativity was in Tahiti where he lived for eight years. Despite the poverty following serious illnesses, at this particular time he painted his best artworks, including "When Will You Marry? (Nafea Faa Ipoipo)". Popularity came to Gauguin after his death in 1906, following the organization its first large exhibition of 227 paintings in 1906.

Rudolf Staechelin Family Foundation was founded in 1931 and is named after the founder of the collection, the famous Swiss collector of early 20th century Rudolf Staehelin (1881-1946). The Foundation owns more than 20 paintings by outstanding French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Paul Gauguin, Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Paul Cezanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri Matisse, Edgar Degas. Currently the Foundation is headed by grandson, named after grandfather, Rudolf Staehelin.

Considering the exceptional value of the collection, many of the paintings (including "When Will You Marry?") were during nearly 60 years on loan to the Museum of Fine Arts (Kunstmuseum) in Basel and at the Museum "d'Art et d'Histoire" in Geneva.

According to Rudolf Staehelin, there were two reasons for the sale of painting: the conflict with Kunstmuseum about the terms of the lease and attractive offer from a potential buyer.
Following the logic of Rudolf Staehelin, in the near future it is rather possible that other paintings from the collection of the Foundation will also be offered on the art market.