The National Gallery looks set to buy a portrait by Jacopo Pontormo for just over £30m after the UK government privately agreed to an unprecedented £19m grant to cover tax. The export licence deferral on the painting expires on 22 October and an announcement is expected shortly.
Portrait of a Young Man in a Red Cap (1530) depicts Carlo Neroni, a Florentine aristocrat. Pontormo is one of the great portraitists of the 16th century and most of his works remain in Italy, which means that the National Gallery is very keen to acquire the Neroni picture. The specialist adviser to the UK Export Reviewing Committee describes it as “magisterial in its depiction of youthful pride, assertion and beauty”.
As reported in The Art Newspaper, after an export licence was first deferred in December 2015 the gallery appealed to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Treasury, asking whether it might somehow be possible to obtain a tax concession. After prolonged discussions, the Treasury is believed to have agreed to make an exceptional grant, which is likely to amount to around £19m to cover the tax. This means that the gallery now has to find just over £11m to complete the purchase.
The Pontormo had been bought in 1825 by the Third Earl of Caledon and, after passing down his family, it was lent to the National Gallery in 2008. Last year the Pontormo was sold by the Seventh Earl via an intermediary to an anonymous foreign buyer for £30.6m. The Art Newspaper understands that the new owner is Tomilson (Tom) Hill, the New York hedge fund banker at the Blackstone Group, who has recently emerged as a major collector of both Old Masters and contemporary art. His spokeswoman is not commenting on the Pontormo.
In an unusual situation, the foreign buyer paid for the Pontormo before an export licence application was made. This means that a British public collection which wants to match the £30.6m price is unable to take advantage of the tax concessions available on a private treaty sale with the original seller.
The National Gallery recently approached two major grant-giving institutions, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Art Fund. Although neither fund has made announcements, both are believed to have responded positively. The gallery still has to find further money to close the gap, which is expected to come partly from its own reserves and from the American Friends of the National Gallery (set up with money from J. Paul Getty Jr.).
Although considerable progress has been, the funding gap will need to be closed by 22 October export licence deferral deadline, to enable the gallery to make a matching offer. The hope is that the foreign buyer will then accept the offer and sell to the National Gallery. At this delicate point a gallery spokeswoman was unwilling to comment.
If successful, the Pontormo will be one of the most expensive acquisition by a UK museum after the two large Titian paintings of Diana (1556-59), bought jointly by the National Gallery and National Galleries of Scotland for £50m and £45m in 2009 and 2012. Raphael’s Madonna of the Pinks (1506-07), purchased by the National Gallery in 2004 was valued at £35m.