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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Matthew Weaver

English Heritage said no to Dutch loan request for ‘fragile’ Vermeer painting

The Guitar Player by Johannes Vermeer (c.1672) at Kenwood in London.
The Guitar Player by Johannes Vermeer (c.1672) at Kenwood in London. Photograph: Jim Holden/English Heritage

English Heritage refused to lend one of its most precious paintings to a blockbuster Vermeer exhibition, claiming it was too fragile to travel, despite expert assurance that the risk of damage was “negligible”, documents reveal.

Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum tried to gather all of Johannes Vermeer’s 37 surviving paintings in one place for the largest ever exhibition of work by the Dutch master.

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