Trustee turmoil at Science Museum
Plus: Tracey Emin, Huw Edwards and John Singer Sargent
Happy Friday - and happy Guy Fawkes Night to my UK readers. Remember, remember and all that.
A big shout out to the events team at Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum who will no doubt be enjoying a big ole drink tonight after successfully hosting a reception for *checks notes* nearly every national leader on the planet (plus two future British monarchs). It was part of the COP26 conference, and boy I bet that was a stressful few weeks to organise it. But the place looked great.
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Now let’s get to this week’s news!
Maxwell
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This week’s top story
The National Museum Cardiff has removed a portrait of Welsh officer Sir Thomas Picton (who died in the Battle of Waterloo) in response to his links to the slave trade. It had been on display for more than a century. The Museum says they’ll be “working on the interpretation of Picton with…young people over the next few weeks” who will also help decide the painting’s future. BBC News
But the story developed today when it was revealed that BBC newsreader Huw Edwards is ‘being spoken to’ by his bosses after he objected to the portrait’s removal. He tweeted that the Museum’s statement was “absurdly vague” with regard to a timeline for its reinstatement and that he was “uneasy” about taking it off display. It’s believed the BBC will remind him of the impartiality guidelines brought in to control opinions being shared on social media.
And fair play to the Museum, who invited Huw to visit for a chance to discuss the next steps, which he says he gladly accepted.
This week’s other stories
An “outstanding” portrait by John Singer Sargent that’s considered his “finest portrait of a male sitter” is due to leave the UK for good unless a gallery or art institution here can buy it for £7.5m. An export bar has been issued by the British government to hopefully allow venues time to fundraise for it. I suspect a fair few collections will be assessing if they can cobble the cash together. gov.uk
Trustee turmoil at the Science Museum as two have sensationally resigned this week over a new sponsorship deal with a company that’s part of an energy conglomerate. One of the quitting trustees is TV presenter and mathematician Hannah Fry who said that “the Science Museum gives the false impression that scientists believe the efforts of fossil fuel companies are sufficient to avoid [climate] disaster.” After having two board resignations I wonder if there had to be a Nicola Murray-style ring-round to the remaining trustees ‘to count on their support?’ The Times
What would be a fitting tribute to HM The Queen, the UK’s longest-reigning monarch? (Apart from naming an Olympic Park, a vast new railway, and the Big Ben clock tower after her of course?) It’s a massive spike in the middle of the remote moors of Northumberland that’s what! At least that’s what the government's Planning Inspectorate thinks, which has green-lit a new 55-meter toothpick-style sculpture. For scale: it will be three times the size of the Angel of the North. BBC News
Museums such as the Big Pit Coal Museum, HMS Belfast, the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham and the Natural History Museum are turning their lights green today in a WWF project to draw attention to the COP26 conference taking place in Glasgow. Phew, because otherwise you might not have heard it’s on. Museums and Heritage Advisor
In an in-depth interview with BBC Radio 4, Tracey Emin this week said it was 'love' rather than art that saved her following her bladder cancer battle. She revealed that she fell in love just before her diagnoses. She also said that throughout her career she was written off as a “narcissistic, deranged, screaming banshee.” Presenter John Wilson tweeted that it was “one of the most intense & moving interviews” he’s ever done. Mail Online
The Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of African Art in Washington, DC has removed its Benin bronzes from display and is planning to repatriate them, according to the museum’s director. The Art Newspaper
The former director of one of Spain’s most prestigious modern art museums goes on trial today accused of spending more than €4 million to purchase works of art she knew to be fake. Consuelo Císcar, who lead the state-owned Valencia Institute of Modern Art is accused of using public cash to buy works attributed to 20th-century Spanish artist Gerardo Rueda, but which were actually made by his adopted son after the artist’s death. The Times
This newsletter is three years old! If you’ve been enjoying it, please consider buying me a digital coffee via the link below. Each digital coffee is a donation which helps keep it free.