Export of John Constable painting blocked

LONDON, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- The British government has blocked export of a painting by landscape artist John Constable to gain time to raise funds to keep the artwork inside its borders.

The London government deferred an application to take Constable's "Flatford Lock from the Mill House" out of the country, in an effort to keep the painting from leaving England until a way is found to meet the work's more than $5.3 million cost, the BBC said.

The delay was recommended by Britain's Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest and officially ordered by Culture Minister David Lammy.

A spokeswoman for the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council that controls the committee said that the work from the acclaimed artist represents a key aspect of British culture.

"The painting is a unique image in Constable's work which records important features of the local landscape and the workings of the lock at Flatford which are documented in no other work by the artist," she said.

The BBC said that if a serious bid emerges to keep the work in Britain the application can be delayed until May 2007.