Thanks to a "non payment after auction", Chardin’s Cut Melon finally enters the Kimbell

21/5/25- Acquisition - Fort Worth, Kimbell Art Museum - The Kimbell Art Museum, acting through a dealer, was the successful bidder for Chardin’s Basket of Strawberries at the Artcurial auction on 23/3/22. The sale was widely publicised, as was the result, which was a record for a painting by Chardin: €24.4 million. However, in the end, the export certificate was not granted and the American museum, which had long been seeking to acquire a still life by the French painter, was deprived of this purchase, the work finally being acquired by the Louvre thanks to the patronage of Bernard Arnault (see articles).