A few weeks ago, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles bought Joseph Turner's Modern Rome - Campo Vaccino at a Sotheby's auction in London. With only a half dozen or so Turner paintings of this size and quality remaining in private hands, the auction offered the Getty a rare opportunity to add significantly to its relatively small holdings of works by the British master.
Modern Rome - Campo Vaccino, said by Sotheby's to be in excellent condition, is widely admired and was highly coveted by other bidders. It sold for about $45 million, well above the pre-auction estimate of $18 to $27 million. The seller was an heir of the 5th Earl of Rosebery, who bought the painting from its original owner in the late 19th century.
Normally when a painting transfers like this from private hands to a public institution, I am quite happy. But I have mixed feelings about this acquisition. Before the sale, Modern Rome - Campo Vaccino was not secluded on some British estate out of view of everyone but a privileged few; it had hung on loan in the National Galleries of Scotland for decades. Now most Scots will likely never again have the opportunity to see this painting in person.
On the bright side for me, however, my wife has family in Los Angeles, and we travel there at least a couple of times a year. If the transaction of Modern Rome - Campo Vaccino is completed in time, I plan to go see it at the Getty on my next visit to Southern California.
I should note that there is an outside chance that Turner's painting will never leave the United Kingdom. Under British law, the Getty's purchase can be blocked if someone in the U.K. can match the purchase price. The Getty has seen previous acquisitions foiled by this law.
However, it seems highly unlikely that any British museum has $45 million to spend on one painting. And in the current economy, raising that sum would be a daunting task. Government help is probably out of the question, especially considering the controversy that sprung up last year when the Scotish government spent more than 17 million pounds to keep Titian's Diana and Actaeon at the National Galleries.
Also, it's unlikely that a British citizen will step forward to buy. Anyone with the means and the interest in Turner's work probably bid in the auction and lost to the Getty, whose rich endowment seems to allow it to outbid anyone, no matter the price, whenever the museum is determined to acquire a work of art.
This enormous buying power adds to my ambivalence about the purchase of Modern Rome - Campo Vaccino. As much as I love great art, I wonder if any painting is worth $45 million. I've heard the argument that if a buyer is willing to pay that much, then the painting is worth it. But should anyone, or any institution, be willing to value a single work of art so dearly?
Such a high price for Modern Rome - Campo Vaccino seems out of whack with history. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston owns one of Turner's greatest paintings, Slave Ship (Slavers Throwing Overboard the Dead and Dying, Typhoon Coming On). Thanks to the MFA's informative website, we know that the museum paid $65,000 for the painting in 1899. Adjusted for inflation, that price is equal to about $1.65 million.
So what has happened in the past 110 years to inflate Turner's value nearly thirtyfold? Is it simply a matter of supply and demand, with many fewer Turners now available for purchase while a global economy allows many more people to partake in the bidding?
Whatever the answer, this overheated art market has created a climate where an owner of a great work like Modern Rome - Campo Vaccino is unlikely to donate it to a museum. I like to think that if I were in the same position as the Earl of Rosebery's heir, I would want to share Turner's painting with the art-loving public and donate to a museum. But no matter what my wealth, it would be awfully hard to forgo $45 million.
So Turner's image of 19th-century Rome seems destined to leave Scotland for Los Angeles. I guess when I see Modern Rome - Campo Vaccino, I can keep any pangs of guilt at bay by reminding myself that the United Kingdom is awash in Turner paintings, including another view of Rome at the National Galleries of Scotland. I'll just tell myself that it's only fair that LA get one, too.
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