Paintings plea - Russborough art

A GREAT many people will share the disappointment of Arts Minister Heather Humpheys at failing to persuade the Beit Art Foundation to cancel its planned sale of valuable Russborough House paintings at Christie’s in London.

It goes to the heart of the debate raging over which represents the more valuable heritage — the paintings or the house? Undoubtedly, Russborough is among the greatest of Irish Georgian houses and its upkeep is important. But equally, the paintings are the core of its collection of great treasures and as such are acknowledged by the international art world. Regrettably, the trustees are committed under a £1.4m fine to put a number of works up for auction including two oil sketches by Peter Paul Rubens on July 9.

The fact that some paintings have already gone under the hammer lends a sense of urgency to the High Court challenge by An Taisce, which in Irish aptly means “the treasury”, to the issuing of export licences for 10 paintings from the Beit collection. It is time a company or a businessperson with deep pockets stepped in.