Turner watercolour to remain in the UK

JMW Turner – Blue Rigi: Lake of Lucerne

Turner watercolour to remain in the UK The Blue Rigi, a great watercolour by Joseph Mallord William Turner, saived for the UK thanks to multiple donations]]>

Good news for the British: after months of uncertainty, the Tate Gallery has finally raised the £4,95 million needed to avoid that “The Blue Rigi”, a watercolour by Joseph Mallord William Turner – considered to be one of his masterpieces- that had been sold in June 2006 for £5,8 million (auction record for a Turner’s watercolour), and on which the British Ministry of Culture had emitted a temporary export bar, to give the London gallery the opportunity of raising funds for its acquisition.

The gallery launched a campaign encouraging people to contribute to the purchase of the work, accepting donations from the reasonable sum of £5. Eight months later, and with more than 10,000 donations received, the masterwork will remain in the United Kingdom.

It is not the first time in recent years that a masterpiece is saved for the British people thanks to particular donations. In 2004, the National Gallery raised the £22 million needed to acquire the “Madonna of the pinks” (“Madonna dei garofani”), a masterpiece by Raphael; and in 2000, the same gallery, thanks to numerous donations, was able to stop the public auction of the only work by Cimabue in private hands, acquiring it for £6,5 million, a price far below to the price that the beautiful small panel could have reached in the open market.