Paintings Too Valuable to Display in Irish House Cause Uproar When Offered for Sale

Lorne Manly writes in the New York Times about Russborough House’s decision to sell “six old master paintings by the likes of Rubens, David Teniers the Younger and Francesco Guardi” which have been vulnerable to four major thefts and have not been on display for 20 years because of their value:

The sale, which Christie’s estimates could raise as much as $12.5 million, is being promoted as a way to shore up the crumbling finances of the house, an imposing example of Palladian classicism. But the sale is also provoking an outcry among cultural-world denizens in Ireland and some members of the foundation’s board who believe the public should not lose access to the art. An Taisce, a national heritage society, has called for political intervention to secure the future of the collection in Ireland. The Irish Arts Review, an arts quarterly, is collecting signatures for a petition to halt the auction. And the Irish Georgian Society forced its representative on the foundation’s board to resign after discovering that he had voted in favor of the decision without consulting the society. “The gift was made to the Irish people,” said Carmel O’Sullivan, head of the school of education at Trinity College Dublin and a foundation board member. “As trustees, it is our responsibility, our moral responsibility, to preserve that for the Irish people.”

Sale of Old Masters Sets Off an Outcry in Ireland  (NYTimes.com)