British Museum Director resigns
Hartwig Fischer steps down immediately over museum's handling of suspected widespread collection theft
Also in this edition: Man detained on National Gallery roof, pair arrested over Crooked House pub fire, Met Museum’s female-focussed fashion exhibition, British Library releases one million images
Hello.
Apologies for the lateness of this newsletter landing in your inbox. But as you’ll see, NEWS HAS BEEN HAPPENING (why is it always Friday afternoon?!)
And it’s not just any news. The Director of the British Museum Hartwig Fischer has announced he will step down immediately following the museum’s handling of the missing object scandal. Reminder: Over 1,500 objects are thought to have gone missing or been stolen over years, despite senior staff being tipped off about items appearing on eBay. Full details on this explosive development below (and the many twists and turns of the past week) but let me tell you that this story really is BIG.
Fischer’s resignation has been leading all the British national news websites this afternoon. They all sent push notifications to their millions of app readers. It’s led Radio 4’s PM programme, and it was the joint top story on BBC News at Six (sharing the billing with Donald Trump’s mugshot. Not a great place to be you’ll agree). If people hadn’t heard about the scandal yet, they certainly will have now.
Of course, the next question is: will Fischer be the only one out the door? There are still serious questions over other senior staff and the handling of theft tip-offs. I imagine I’ll still be writing about this story next week too.
On a happier note, thank you to everyone for all your positive feedback on my interview with Rachel Mackay and her new book on the importance of the visitor experience. In just two days it’s become my second most-read interview ever. If you haven’t read it yet, you can do so below. And go on, let’s help push it up to the number one spot!
Now onto the news!
Maxwell
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Need To Know
Hartwig Fischer resigns
British Museum Director Hartwig Fischer has said he will step down from his role immediately, after treasures were stolen from the London institution. In a statement, he said it was evident the museum "did not respond as comprehensively as it should have" when it was told about the thefts in 2021. Fischer also withdrew remarks he made earlier this week about the man who first alerted museum bosses. He said he expressed "sincere regret" over the "misjudged" comments. (Read more)
This week it was confirmed that the Museum was first alerted to thefts in 2021 by an art dealer. But he was told that "all objects were accounted for" in emails seen by the BBC. Then in a remarkable turn, a statement released by Fischer — the one now withdrawn — saw him hit out at the art dealer, saying it was “frustrating” that his warnings did not reveal the full number of artefacts he’d found to be stolen. “It would have aided our investigations” Fischer said.
And in a not-at-all-foreseeable development, the art dealer then broke his silence, and gave an exclusive interview to the Telegraph saying that he was treated like a “village idiot” by the museum’s two most senior executives. He called on them to be sacked to prevent further damage to the institution. In the interview he explained the long and thorough process he went through to build evidence of the thefts, and how management “refused to listen” to him for two years. A breakthrough only came when George Osborne, the Chair, was alerted.
Fischer’s departure follows a week of endless negative headlines around the ongoing scandal. “A national disgrace” was the Time’s damning verdict in a leader article on the Museum’s handling of the thefts. The Telegraph — also in a leader — said it was “an embarrassing failure” and called on Osborne to sack those “accused of ignoring warnings” about the scandal.
This all came alongside *deep breath* revelations that a man has been interviewed by the Metropolitan Police in regards to the thefts, that the curator sacked over the alleged thefts was promoted to oversee the Greek collections and the Parthenon Sculptures even after the whistleblower had raised the alarm, and that the Greek government has said the incident reinforces their demand that the Sculptures should be returned to Athens. The Nigerian government have done the same over the Benin Bronzes. Oh and for good measure, the Times did some digging and discovered all the thousands of items documented as missing from the collection over the past twenty years. What will week three of the story bring?!
“Systemic underfunding”
Amongst all the fallout at the British Museum, the Museums Association — the membership and advocacy group which represents more than 10,000 staff in the sector — issued a statement hitting back at reports that “inside job” thefts such as those suspected at the BM are commonplace. “‘Inside jobs’ are extremely unusual” they said. “We can categorically say that theft from collections by people who work in museums is, fortunately, incredibly rare.”
But the statement does go on to say that “systemic underfunding of the sector over the past ten years” has undermined attempts to safeguard collections, and that “restructures and redundancies have led to a loss of expertise and a weakening of the normal systems of checks and balances that take place within institutions.”
The statement comes after anonymous museum staff told the Guardian that theft is common and that the taking of certain items is thought to be “fair game”. (Read more)
News from the UK
Man scales gallery | A man has been detained after scaling the roof of the National Gallery and spending nearly 24 hours there. The art museum was forced to close after the man was spotted, and it did not reopen until he’d been removed. Police confirmed the man was detained under the Mental Health Act and was taken to hospital. They added that an investigation had begun on how he managed to access the roof. (Read more)
Paintings back home | Two masterpieces by 18th century painter Joseph Wright have gone on display in his home town, in what is only the fifth time in 250 years they have been seen in public. The two “candlelight” works were unveiled at the Derby Museum and Art Gallery on Tuesday, and are shown as part of a long-term loan agreement with the private owners. (Read more)
World first redisplayed | An iron railway bridge that ‘changed the world’ is to return home to Durham. Locomotion, the National Railway Museum at Shildon, is preparing to welcome back what is the world’s oldest surviving iron railway bridge. It will take pride of place between the existing museum building and a new £8m extension, which will house more than 50 rail vehicles from the national collection. (Read more)
Crooked House arrests | Two men have been arrested over the fire that gutted the historic 18th century Crooked House pub in Staffordshire. A 66-year-old man from Dudley and a 33-year-old man from Milton Keynes have been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life. The news comes as people have camped outside the site to ensure no further damage is done to the building’s remains. (Read more)
News from around the world
USA | The Metropolitan Museum of Art‘s Costume Institute has announced that its autumn exhibition will be a celebration of female designers and women-led fashion houses. Women Dressing Women will showcase about 80 objects and the work of more than 70 makers from the museum’s collection, all tracing the history of influential women-led fashion houses from the 20th century until today. (Read more)
China | A Chinese billionaire collector couple who founded the Long Museum in Shanghai — one of the country's most prominent private art institutions — will sell a portion of their collection through Sotheby’s in Hong Kong later this year. It means around 50 masterpieces by world-famous western artists will come on the market, and millions will be raised to fund the Long Museum and help it acquire more works. (Read more)
USA | The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has announced it has exceeded its $750 MILLION DOLLAR fundraising campaign for a new building. It’s rather lucky, as the new David Geffen Galleries are already nearly 65% complete. It’s designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning Swiss architect Peter Zumthor. The museum’s CEO said the huge new galleries would be “an incredible gift to Los Angeles.” (Read more)
France | The French army general in charge of overseeing the reconstruction of the fire-ravaged Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris has died while hiking in the Pyrénées in a shock accident. President Macron said that General Jean-Louis George’s death means “the nation has lost one of its great soldiers, France one of its great servants and Notre-Dame the master manager of its renaissance.” (Read more)
Best of the rest
On Swiss ice | The ice rink is returning to Somerset House this Christmas (yes, winter is coming). This year it’ll have Swiss mountain vibes as part of a deal inked with the Switzerland Tourism board. (More)
Huge image drop | The British Library have just dropped over ONE MILLION images into the public domain for the first time. Anyone is now free to use, remix and repurpose them. Most come from rare 17th to 19th century books. (More)
Photo prize returns | The shortlisted photographers for the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2023 have been revealed. It’ll be the first time the National Portrait Gallery will host the prize in their revamped home. (More)
Bicentenary artwork announced | Turner-winning Jeremy Deller will present an ambitious public art piece in London’s Trafalgar Square in July 2025 marking the 200th anniversary of the National Gallery. It’ll celebrate “festivals, gatherings, and art in the public realm.” (More)
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