Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Santander’s Botin Can’t Get His Picasso Out of Spain

August 4, 2015 by Marion Maneker

This story about Jaime Botin trying to sneak his Picasso off to Switzerland despite the Spanish government having refused the work an export license is curious more because it reveals a mis-conception about the global transfer of art works and the assumption that valuable art is easily moved about the world without unsuspecting customs officers being able to figure it out.

Obviously, here’s a case—one among many in recent years—where the authorities were quite capable of spotting a valuable work of art:

A Picasso worth €25m (£17.5m/US$27.4 million) and considered a cultural treasure by Spanish authorities who had barred it from being exported has been seized from a boat docked at Corsica, according to French authorities.

An attempt to export the painting, Head of a Young Woman, to Switzerland on Thursday “drew the attention of French officials”, the country’s customs authority said in a statement, with customs agents on the French island boarding the vessel the following day.

The ship’s captain could only present two documents regarding the work of art, the statement said – one of which was a May 2015 Spanish court judgement labelling the painting a work of art and ordering that it not be taken out of the country.

Authorities in France seize Picasso painting banned from leaving Spain (The Guardian)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Sotheby’s to Sell Lost Rosetti Prosperine in NovemberSotheby’s to Sell Lost Rosetti Prosperine in November
  • Christie’s Sees Opportunity in Shanghai Free Trade ZoneChristie’s Sees Opportunity in Shanghai Free Trade Zone
  • You Can Live in an Art Dealer’s Brooklyn TownhouseYou Can Live in an Art Dealer’s Brooklyn Townhouse
  • McAndrew: Online Art Sales Reach $3.2bn in 2012McAndrew: Online Art Sales Reach $3.2bn in 2012
  • Massive Art Theft in Pebble BeachMassive Art Theft in Pebble Beach
  • Art: The “SWAG” AssetArt: The “SWAG” Asset

Filed Under: General

About Marion Maneker

LiveArt

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor