Louvre's crowdfunding campaign successfully acquires Chardin's "Le Panier de fraises des bois"

The Louvre museum launched a public crowdfunding campaign, "Tous Mécènes", to acquire Jean Siméon Chardin's 1761 painting "Le Panier de fraises des bois" (The Basket of Wild Strawberries). The small still life (38×46 cm) had been in private hands and was the last Chardin work in private ownership. On March 23, 2022, it was offered for sale at Artcurial with an estimate of over €15 million. New York art dealer Adam Williams, acting for the Kimbell Art Museum, made a record bid of just over €24 million. However, the French state declared the painting a "national treasure", suspending the sale for thirty months to allow time to raise funds. The total acquisition cost was €24.4 million, largely financed by LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton and the Société des Amis du Louvre. The campaign aimed to raise the remaining €1.3 million by February 28, 2024. It ultimately collected over €1.6 million from nearly 10,000 individual donors, setting a record. The painting entered the Louvre's permanent collection and will be exhibited at Louvre-Lens from March 21, 2024, before touring France. Louvre director Laurence Des Cars and former director Pierre Rosenberg supported the appeal.