Back in December, Sotheby’s London auctioned a drawing by Raphael entitled, “Head of a Young Apostle.” After an intense bidding war, the work sold for £29 million , roughly three times the estimate and an auction record for a work on paper. This week, it was revealed that the buyer was Leon Black, billionaire and founder of Apollo Global Management (also the buyer of Munch’s “The Scream” back in 2012 for $120 million). Black, who’s collection already includes works by Rapael as well as Picasso and Van Gogh, has not been able to ship his recent acquisition back to the US. Ed Vaizey, Arts Minister, placed a temporary export bar on the work which opens an opportunity for someone to raise money to keep the work in the UK. If a serious offer has not been made by July 3rd, Black will be allowed to take the work out of the UK.
New York billionaire Leon Blacks bid to take £29m Raphael from UK blocked by Ed Vaizey