In December 2013, Christie’s London announced that it would auction off 85 works spanning the seven decades of Spanish artist Joan Miró’s career. On Tuesday, February 4, the auction house announced that it had cancelled the sale following a legal dispute in Portugal.

The paintings, which are valued at more than 36 million euros, were acquired by the Portuguese government from a failing bank during the 2008 global banking crisis. Much to the dismay of Portuguese art enthusiasts, the country’s cash-strapped government announced that it would sell the works to bring a much-needed injection of funds. Earlier this week, Portugal’s Socialist party filed a request in court to have the sale halted. Although the request was rejected, Christie’s decided to stop the auction, saying, “The legal uncertainties created by this ongoing dispute mean that we are not able to safely offer the works for sale. We have a responsibility to our buyers to be sure that legal title can transfer to them without issue.”  

The works were to be sold during three auctions slated to take place February 4 and 5. The star of the auction was to be ‘Women and Birds,’ which features two of Miró’s recurring subjects. Created in 1968, the canvas was expected fetch between 4 million euros and 7 million euros.