N.S. art gallery holds ‘very productive’ talks with Annie Leibovitz, renewed hope photos could be exhibited

There’s hope a collection of portraits by renowned American photographer Annie Leibovitz that have been stuck in storage since 2013 could soon be exhibited in Halifax, says a provincial cabinet minister.

Culture Minister Leo Glavine said his optimism is based on a “very productive meeting” between Leibovitz representatives and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia earlier this month.

“It looks promising,” said Glavine. “We are very hopeful that those discussions will end with a very positive outcome.”

However, Glavine couldn’t say exactly when there would be a resolution to what’s been an ongoing saga.

“I think Annie herself and her team at this stage want to see this come to fruition and that’s why I would say the last discussions were probably some of the most positive we’ve had,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I think Annie herself and her team at this stage want to see this come to fruition and that's why I would say the last discussions were probably some of the most positive we've had," he said.

The collection includes an introspective image of the Queen and a portrait of a pregnant Demi Moore.

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Other photos include Whoopi Goldberg bathing in milk, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as the Blues Brothers, and a naked John Lennon and Yoko Ono hours before the ex-Beatle was gunned down in front of his New York apartment.

Toronto’s wealthy Mintz family donated the multi-million-dollar collection of Leibovitz photographs in June 2013 to the Halifax gallery but they have not been displayed as a tax battle ensued with Ottawa.

WATCH: Province won’t pay for Leibovitz works

1:50 Province won’t pay for Leibovitz works

A series of requests to grant the collection of more than 2,000 photos a stamp of cultural significance was ultimately turned down by the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board. That resulted in a withholding of lucrative tax incentives to the donor and the final payment to Leibovitz, which is more than $2 million.

Glavine has said the province wouldn’t pay to help the art gallery exhibit the collection.

“Money has not been the central piece in terms of blocking the exhibit from going forward,” said Glavine. “That hasn’t been a big part of the discussions.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Money has not been the central piece in terms of blocking the exhibit from going forward," said Glavine. "That hasn't been a big part of the discussions."

Glavine said a more pressing issue has been the use of the photos in travelling exhibits once they are displayed in Halifax.

“I think once exhibited it could have an opportunity to again go across the country, some parts of her exhibit. So it’s not as straightforward as us putting them here in the art gallery,” he said.