George Lindemann Journal by George Lindemann "Christie's Pulls Auction of Joan Miró Art After Uproar" @wsj by Patricia Kowsmann
Portuguese railway workers block the rail track at the Santa Apolonia station in Lisbon on Tuesday during a protest against austerity measures. Zuma Press
Christie's has withdrawn 85 artworks by Spanish surrealist Joan Miró from its auctions in London this week, after an uproar in Portugal over the government's move to sell the works in an attempt to cut its debt.
The decision, announced on Tuesday just hours before the Impressionist, Modern and Surrealist evening sale, represents a blow to Portugal's coffers—as well as an embarrassment for one of the world's largest auction houses during the most important time of year for the London art market.
While the planned auction would shave off only a tiny fraction of Portugal's more than €200 billion in debt, the flap surrounding it underscores the challenges Europe's most fragile economies continue to face in curing debt hangovers.
Southern European countries have for the past two years slashed spending and raised taxes to lower their budget deficits and ease fears of debt defaults. Austerity drives that have cut social benefits have proven immensely unpopular, as have efforts to shed cultural assets, such as Greece's bid to sell islands, palaces and other icons. In the U.S., a similar outcry has erupted in Detroit as the bankrupt city sought a valuation on a collection at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Christie's withdrew the sale of art by Joan Miró, including 'Femmes et Oiseaux' from 1968, amid outcry over Portugal's plans. National News/Zuma Press
In Portugal, many have seen the government's move as disrespectful toward its art heritage, particularly because revenue from the sale would have been insignificant. A government official on Tuesday said that Portugal needed the money to balance its finances and would have to find it somewhere, if not from the sale.
The 85 Miró works, valued around $49 million in total, range in estimated value from $16,300 to $11.4 million. They became state property after a failing bank, Banco Português de Negócios, was nationalized in 2008.
After receiving a $105 billion international bailout in 2011, debt-stricken Portugal vowed to cut spending and sell assets. While the privatization of several state-owned companies went smoothly, though, the planned sale of the Miró works raised anger among Portuguese opposition parties and cultural institutions.
Last month, the main opposition Socialist Party took the issue to court, requesting the sale be suspended. The country's prosecutor's office agreed, and on Monday it requested a high court in Lisbon to cancel the consignment. Early Tuesday, the court ruled against the request but added that the actual transfer of the pieces to London wasn't done with proper authorization.
The art is currently being stored by Christie's in London, and Portugal has made no requests to have the works shipped back, according to a person familiar with the matter. Until now, the dealings between Christie's and Portuguese officials have been routine, and the court proceedings caught the house off guard, this person said.
"Christie's is clearly being more reasonable than the government itself," said Socialist lawmaker Inês de Medeiros.
Jorge Barreto Xavier, Portugal's state secretary of culture, said the government wasn't responsible for shipping the art, and it is unclear whether the works will be auctioned at Christie's next set of Impressionist and Modern sales, held in New York in May.
Christie's announced it was withdrawing the works only hours before its evening sale at its King Street rooms, which opened London's auction season.
"We received high, great interest in the Mirós so it is quite regrettable," said Christie's specialist Giovanna Bertazzoni after the truncated sale.
Christie's drew controversy last year for its role in the valuation of works at the Detroit Institute of Arts owned by the bankrupt city, including van Gogh's "Self Portrait" and Bruegel's "The Wedding Dance." The auction house estimated the value of the city-purchased portion of the world-class collection between $454 million and $867 million. But the valuation was criticized by some of the city's creditors who argued the process left out millions of dollars worth of other artwork at the institute.
The city under an emergency manager said all of the city's assets including its art could be sold to settle $18 billion in long-term obligations. But in recent weeks, private foundations and the state of Michigan have pledged over $800 million in an attempt to preserve the art in the museum and move control of the collection to a new nonprofit organization.
Most of the Mirós from Portugal were works on paper and would have been sold in Christie's less prestigious day sales throughout the week. But 24 works, including the major 1968 oil "Women and Birds," estimated at $6.5 million to $11.4 million, and 1953's gargantuan "Painting," valued at $4.1 million to $5.7 million, would have made up a sizable portion of Tuesday's sale.
"It certainly wasn't the most exceptional collection, but it was respectable. There were some nice paintings there," said David Nahmad, a multibillionaire dealer in town from Monaco for the sale.
Christie's evening auction on Tuesday totaled $288 million, inside its pre-sale estimate of $223 million to $324 million before the withdrawal of the Mirós. The Portuguese uproar is significant because a successful sale of the works by Miró, a major surrealist artist who heavily influenced Pablo Picasso, would have been a boon to Christie's department of surrealist art, which it has aggressively expanded in recent months.
"It's quite a blow for Christie's," said New York-based dealer David Nash before the sale.
The Miró collection, which BPN—the nationalized Portuguese bank—bought from a Japanese collector in 2006 for an undisclosed amount, was never shown in Portugal.
Opposition political parties and cultural entities hailed Christie's decision.
"The Portuguese people should have the right to keep and enjoy what is now theirs," said Pedro Lapa, art director of the Berardo Museum in Lisbon.
—Matthew Dolan contributed to this article.
Write to Mary M. Lane at mary.lane@wsj.com and Patricia Kowsmann at patricia.kowsmann@wsj.com
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