Rijksmuseum Decides Against Buying Pricey Rembrandt Portrait

Rembrandt, "Portrait of Catrina Hooghsaet," 1657, Penrhyn Castle, Bangor, Wales

More than a year ago, the Rijksmuseum revealed that it hoped to buy one of the finest Rembrandt portraits in private hands, "Portrait of Catrina Hooghsaet" (above), then on loan to the museum from Penrhyn Castle, North Wales. According to Martin Bailey's story last year in The Art Newspaper, the price was expected to be about £40 million.

Now, according to today's story in Expatica Netherlands, the museum has only managed to raise almost £26.4 million (about EUR 34 million or $52.3 million) and the sale is off:

A spokesperson for the museum in Amsterdam reported this Wednesday [that] after more than six months of negotiations, the museum has decided against the purchase because "the expectations of the selling party continue to be too high, according to the experts."

The Rijksmuseum had already secured financial support from the Ministry of Education, Culture & Science, several funds, companies and private individuals to purchase the Rembrandt.