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The piece, which Emin created 15 years ago by making a
montage of her bed surrounded by and covered with discarded
condoms, stained sheets, empty bottles of alcohol and a small
stuffed dog looking at it from a rug, caused a sensation in its
day, raising questions about what was and was not art.
Created at a time when Emin has said she was going through a
depressed period and that the work was a self-portrait of sorts,
it had been expected to sell for between 800,000 pounds and 1.2
million pounds when it was offered by its former owner Saatchi
Gallery Collection at Christie's.
Instead it was snapped up by a then-anonymous bidder for more
than double the top estimate.
In a statement, the Tate identified the owner as Count Christian
Duerckheim, who is a German industrialist, and said that he had
"confirmed that the work will return to the UK and that a
long-term loan to Tate is being finalised. Full details will be
announced in the autumn".
"I am absolutely delighted that Count Duerckheim has agreed to
loan such an important work to Tate for a period of at least 10
years," Nicholas Serota, Director, Tate said.
"We look forward to displaying the work and are most grateful to
Count Duerckheim for his generosity in creating an opportunity
for visitors to see a work that now has iconic status."
In the statement, Count Duerckheim is quoted as saying that he
had purchased the work because "I always admired the honesty of
Tracey, but I bought 'My Bed' because it is a metaphor for life,
where troubles begin and logics die".
The Tate described the work as one of Britain's most celebrated
works of modern art.
"The piece gives a snapshot of the artist's life after a
traumatic relationship breakdown and was short-listed for the
1999 Turner Prize".($1 = 0.5904 British Pounds)
(Editing by Michael Roddy)
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