Polish official under fire over art including da Vinci

WARSAW, Poland – Poland’s culture minister has survived a no-confidence vote after he was accused of wasting public money when paying 100 million euros ($120 million) to a Polish-Spanish aristocrat for an art collection that includes Leonardo da Vinci’s “Lady with an Ermine.”

In 2016, Piotr Glinski purchased the collection from Adam Karol Czartoryski, a cousin to Spain’s former King Juan Carlos.

His critics argued that no transaction was needed at all as the collection had been originally intended as Poland’s property and had a Polish heritage dating back to the 18th century. To make matters worse, they argued that the money went abroad rather than stay in Poland.

Glinski argued that the artworks were not legally bound to Poland and that the purchase sealed Poland’s ownership of them.