Art News

A Major Royal Academy Art Show Canceled Over Seized Painting

Peter Paul Rubens - "Mars and Rhea Silvia", c. 1616-17 - Oil on canvas, 209 x 272 cm. - Sammlungen des Fursten von und zu Liechtenstein, Vaduz-Wien. Inv. No. GE 122

LONDON (REUTERS).- A major London exhibition of
treasures from the Prince of Liechtenstein’s collection has been canceled
because of a dispute over the export of one of the prince’s paintings. The show
was billed as one of the highlights of the 2010 season at the Royal
Academy
, and the prestigious gallery is now working on alternatives to
fill its main galleries between September and December next year. The Royal
Academy’s 2010 exhibition of treasures from the Liechtenstein Collection faced
cancellation because one of Prince Hans-Adam II’s paintings has been impounded
in London. His Portrait of the Infante Don Diego, 1577, by Alonso Coello, was
barred from export by HM Revenue and Customs, after the Prince bought the work
three years ago.