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Senator suggests selling iconic "Blue Poles" painting to reduce debt

Xinhua, October 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Australian government should consider selling famous art piece "Blue Poles" by American artist Jackson Pollock in order to reduce the national debt, a coalition Senator has said.

Controversially purchased by former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in 1973 for a million U.S. dollars, the modern abstract art piece is now set to be worth almost 275 million U.S. dollars, and Liberal Senator James Paterson said now was the time to "cash in" on the "great investment."

Normally housed in the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) but currently on loan to the Royal Academy of Arts in London, Paterson said Blue Poles should be sold to the highest bidder in order to pay off some of the ballooning government debt.

"It's not appropriate for the federal government to own a single piece of art worth 265 million U.S dollars, particularly given that money could be much better used elsewhere," Paterson told News Corp in comments published on Friday.

"Given our gross national debt of 355 billion U.S dollars as of this month, my preference would be to use every dollar of the proceeds from selling Blue Poles to pay down debt."

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann applauded the Senator's pragmatism but said a "national treasure" such as Blue Poles should not be sold on a whim.

"It is a national art treasure and I can't see it being sold, but I don't criticize James Paterson for one moment for turning his mind to how we can get our budget into a stronger position for the future," Cormann told Sky News overnight.

"I like the fact that James Paterson is thinking about how we can strengthen our budget position, but in relation to this particular object, it's a matter for the board of the NGA to determine how they manage their portfolio."

Blue Poles is a famous, five-meter long piece of artwork painted by renowned artist Jackson Pollock in 1952. Endit