National Gallery of Canada will hold on to Chagall painting, "La Tour Eiffel"

 The National Gallery of Canada (NGC) said Thursday that it no longer intends to sell Marc Chagall's painting "La Tour Eiffel."

The Ottawa-based museum announced earlier this month that it would auction Chagall's painting in mid-May in New York in order to acquire a painting by another French artist: "Saint Jerome hears the trumpet of the Last Judgment" by Jacques-Louis David. The oeuvre was, according to the museum, in danger of being shipped out internationally.

However, the Quebec government announced that it had taken steps to ensure that Jacques-Louis David's neoclassical masterpiece would remain in the province.

Since Jacques-Louis David's "Saint Jerome" is no longer in danger of leaving the country, the NGC Board of Directors came to the conclusion that it is no longer necessary to sell "La Tour Eiffel."

It was expected to bring in anywhere between $6 million to $9 million, according to the Christie's website.

• 

  "La Tour Eiffel," painted by Marc Chagall in 1929, was expected on the action block at New York's "Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale" at Christie's in New York this coming May. (Photo courtesy of Christies.com)