A deal to repatriate a huge collection of rare Canadian art from England nearly fell apart as the selling family grew frustrated with the slow response of officials in Ottawa.
In the end, the troubled acquisition of the Peter Winkworth collection by the federal government took so long that taxpayers wound up paying $500,000 more than the original asking price, newly disclosed documents show.
The 1,200 pieces in the collection, acquired for $4.5 million last year, were meticulously amassed by Winkworth, a former Montrealer who died in London in 2005 at age 76 following a series of strokes.
The material includes watercolours, paintings, prints, maps, powder horns, a sundial and other visual depictions of early Canada, all assembled lovingly over a lifetime.
