One of Glasgow’s most famous paintings is taking a trip overseas for the first time in 30 years.
Salvador Dali’s Christ of St John of the Cross, the star attraction at the city’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, is being loaned to the US for six months. The iconic artwork will feature in a major exhibition examining the artist’s late work, in Atlanta, Georgia.
The painting, worth an estimated £60 million, has left the UK six times on loan since it was bought for Glasgow’s collection in 1952. Its last trip abroad was in 1980 to Paris, but it has since left Glasgow to be displayed at the National Gallery in London in 2000. It was also shown in New York in 1965.
Glasgow will receive a fee of £25,000 for the loan, and because the city owns the copyright to the painting, it is expected to earn revenue from merchandising sales during its trip to the States. The painting will begin its journey across the Atlantic by ship in July and go on display in Atlanta’s High Museum the following month. When it returns to the Kelvingrove, it will be moved to a different spot. The painting currently hangs in a corner at the end of a long first floor gallery, where it sometimes causes congestion as people gather to look at what is probably the institution’s leading art exhibit. Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is Scotland’s leading tourist attraction, drawing nearly 1.4 million visitors last year.
Councillor George Redmond, a spokesman for Glasgow Life which runs the city’s museums, art galleries and libraries, said the loan would allow new research on the painting.“This loan agreement includes a commitment to find out much more about this Glasgow treasure and how important it was to Dali’s career before it returns early next year,” Mr Redmond said. “In the meantime Kelvingrove will be showing Titian’s Diana and Actaeon throughout July, and the hugely successful Glasgow Boys exhibition continues until the end of September.”
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Dali created the painting in the summer of 1951 at Port Lligat in Spain and Its purchase by Glasgow the following year caused a public outcry, as many believed the £8,500 cost was too high. Despite proving to be a wise investment, the artwork has continued to attract controversy. In 1961, the stark image was attacked by a man with mental health problems who slashed it with a stone and a knife. In the early 80s, someone shot at its protective Perspex cover with an airgun.