Hundreds of paintings and prints from the UK Government Collection related to slavery and colonialism are waiting for a verdict. Will they be removed from sight, or will viewers be allowed to learn from history?
The UK Government Art Collection (GAC) will reinterpret the interpretation of hundreds of paintings and prints related to slavery, colonialism, and racism. Many of the works on the collection's website now have the "pending" label, and although it was soon removed, the "black list" has already formed.
%20on%20temporary%20display%20at%20the%20Whitechapel%20Gallery.jpg) | ||
| Works from the Government Art Collection (GAC) on temporary display at the Whitechapel. GalleryPhoto Tony HarrisWhitechapel Art Gallery. |
The British government began systematically collecting art in 1899, but some of the art was bought as early as the 19th century, during the heyday of the British Empire. The GAC meeting dates back to 1946 when its first curator was appointed. The collection is managed by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media, and Sports and now contains over 14,000 items, mostly by British artists. These works are used to decorate government offices and diplomatic missions. The GAC has the status of a museum, its official mission is formulated as follows: "the collection promotes British art and plays a key role in British cultural diplomacy, embodying the soft power, culture and values" of the UK.
As explained on the site, work is now underway to "interpret works of art and re-evaluate their role in history." This is happening in the country's major museums as well, an initiative that has become especially relevant since 2020 against the backdrop of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Among those included in the unofficial “black list” are 26 portraits of Queen Victoria. They hang in British embassies and diplomatic missions in Berlin, Kathmandu, New Delhi, Paris, Rome, Istanbul, Stockholm, Tehran, Tokyo, and Tunisia, as well as in the Cabinet Office and Lancaster House, where the Foreign Office is located. Slavery was officially abolished in most of the British Empire in 1833, four years before the Queen's accession to the throne, but not completely abolished before her coronation. During the reign of Victoria, the empire expanded, and, as a rule, by force, and in 1876 she became the sovereign of India.
 | ||
| Portraits of the Duke of Wellington and Pauline Borghese, sister of Napoleon Bonaparte, at the residence of the British Ambassador in Paris. Photo Government Art Collection |
Other portraits of British monarchs that have come under question are those of Elizabeth I, Charles I, Charles II, William III, Anne, George I, and William IV. Perhaps the reputation of these works suffered because their authors or patrons-customers were involved in dubious activities. Probably for the same reason, two portraits of George Washington ended up in disgrace.
George Bickham's How to Get Rich (circa 1736) depicts several sailing ships, below is a poem in praise of British merchants, which includes the line: "New lands to create, new India to explore." This landscape was purchased in 1978. Raise questions and two engravings by William Nicholson (1899). They depict Rudyard Kipling, author of the poem "The White Man's Burden", and Cecil Rhodes, who vigorously promoted imperial rule in southern Africa. The list also includes three Ceylon landscapes by Edward Lear (1870-the 1880s). The Art Newspaper noted that Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak chose for 11 Downing Street a 1918 portrait of Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve sailor Cecil Arthur Tooke by Arthur Kampf, an artist who later became Hitler's favorite.
The GAC is currently awaiting guidance on "controversial legacies" from the authorities. Last May, then-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports Oliver Dowden established a Heritage Advisory Board. He stressed the need to "preserve and explain" such works. Art objects should not be removed from the exhibition, but preserved, with appropriate explanations.
 | ||
| Arthur Kampf. "Portrait of Cecil Arthur Tooke". 1918. | Photo: Government Art Collection |
Likely, the GAC is not going to get rid of the works that now adorn embassies shortly. But these paintings are often changed and transported from place to place - I wonder if the controversial works will be gradually delivered to the storerooms, replacing them with others, ideologically correct.
%20on%20temporary%20display%20at%20the%20Whitechapel%20Gallery.jpg)
