ART

Australian officials on Thursday invoked the country’s Cultural Heritage Act of 1986 for the first time and refused to grant an export permit for an Australian painting that sold at auction to an American for $1.4 million, the highest price ever paid for an Australian artwork. “The Bath of Diana,” a 1937 painting by John Glover, was sold to an unidentified American at auction in April. Australia’s arts minister said exporting the painting would greatly diminish the cultural heritage of the country.