Britain Places Export Ban On Famous Picasso Painting In Effort To Keep Masterpiece In Britain

The British government has placed a temporary export ban on Pablo Picasso's painting Child With A Dove in the hope that funds can be raised to keep the iconic work in the United Kingdom. The painting is privately owned by the Aberconway family of North Whales and has been on loan to the National Gallery since 1974. In March, Christie's confirmed that the family appointed the auction house to sell the masterpiece for undisclosed reasons, sparking the concern that the painting could leave Britain. Last Friday, Culture Minister Ed Vaizey announced that he had made the decision to temporarily ban export of the piece, preventing the work from leaving the country until December 16. Further, if a "serious" attempt to meet the asking price is made by a private buyer or institution outside Britain, the ban could last until June 16, 2013.

The painting is valued at $80 million. Painted in Paris in 1901 when Picasso was only 19 years old, the work marks the start of the Spanish painter's famed "Blue Period." The painting was bequeathed to Lady Aberconway in 1947 by Samuel Courtauld, the legendary industrialist and prolific art collector, who acquired the painting in 1924.