With the former BPN collection of Joan Miró artworks firmly settled in Porto, Christie’s auction house in London has agreed to let Portugal off the hook over ‘damages’ that could be due for removing the works from sale at the 11th hour during the misery of the austerity years. In a statement, the finance ministry says the waiver is another “relevant step in the orientation of this 21st constitutional government”.
Readers may recall that the former PSD/ CDS-PP government’s insistence on the sale of 85 Mirós (83 paintings plus two sculptures) – even though it would go for a fraction of the price they were bought for – prompted a storm of cultural protest which succeeded, in moments of true drama, to wrestle the stunning works back from the brink (click here).
