British officials are trying to prevent an important painting by the late London-born artist Howard Hodgkin from leaving the country. Last week, the country’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) imposed export bans on the following products: Mrs Acton in Delhi (1967-71), giving a British museum or gallery the opportunity to purchase it. Last October, the work was sold at Bonhams auction house in London for 1.7 million pounds (approximately $2.3 million), setting a new auction record for Hodgkin.
He began painting the painting three years after his first trip to India, a place that fascinated him from childhood to the end of his life. According to officials, the work captures a key moment in Hodgkin’s development, showing his shift from early Pop Art influences to the emotionally charged abstraction that would come to define his style.
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Mrs Acton in Delhi Depicts the wife of British Council representative John Stuart Acton, lounging on a balcony overlooking the Indian capital. It is considered one of the outstanding works of Hodgkin’s career and reflects the cultural ties between Britain and India after India’s independence. The Export Review Committee for Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Value determined that the paintings met two of the three so-called Waverly criteria used to designate works of art as national treasures. This is due to its aesthetic importance and significance to the study of modern British painting.
“It urgently needs to be preserved for the state,” committee member Mark Hallett said in a statement.
Before its release last fall, Mrs Acton in Delhi It has only changed hands twice: first from the Kasmin Gallery to the JWT Collection, and then to the consignor who recently sold it at Bonhams. The home did not reveal where the current owner lives. At some point, however, the buyer applied for an export license, prompting the government to step in and delay the process while a British agency was found willing to match the £1.7 million price.
The current export extension lasts until June 4. Thereafter, the shipowner will have 15 days to consider any offer at the suggested price. A spokesman for DCMS said they could not confirm whether any buyers had come forward. If the museum does express serious interest, a second extension period could come up, giving it another four months to raise funds. Interested parties will be directed to contact the Review Committee.
In a similar situation, Color sculpture (oval) light blue and red Barbara Hepworth’s “1943” was banned from export by DCMS after it sold for £3.5 million ($4.7 million) at Christie’s in London last year. The Hepworth Wakefield Museum and Art Trust subsequently successfully raised £3.8 million ($5.1 million) to purchase the work and keep it on British soil.
