Boris Johnson speaks out against sale of public art.
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Mayor of London Boris Johnson has described the decision by Tower Hamlets to sell Henry Moore’s ‘Draped Seated Woman’ by Tower Hamlets Council as “extremely disappointing”. He is urging the Council to find other ways of dealing with the economic climate than selling off the iconic work which he believes should stay in East London. The artwork, which currently resides in Yorkshire Sculpture Park, was last valued at £1m but could potentially be sold for significantly more.
Tower Hamlets is one of the most deprived boroughs in the country. Its Mayor, Lutfur Rahman has justified his decision saying: “... I have a duty to ensure residents do not suffer from the brunt of the horrendous cuts being imposed on us. We are faced with a stark choice in these times of recession. Do we keep this valuable sculpture in Yorkshire or do we try to sell this globally important artwork in order to release much needed funds to invest in local heritage projects we can sustain, affordable housing, improving opportunities and prospects for our young people and keeping our community safe?”
Boris Johnson joins others in the arts community who have recently spoken out against the sale, including Director and Producer Danny Boyle. The Museum of London at Docklands, which is located within the Borough of Tower Hamlets, had offered to display the sculpture in an accessible place but with high security, as potential metal theft has been given as a reason for not displaying the work in the area. While the council and the Museum did correspond about the logistics of the proposal, the Council have since decided to sell the sculpture. A spokesperson for the Museum welcomed the Mayor’s support for the re-homing of the sculpture to its Docklands site.
The Tower Hamlets decision is one of several similar decisions to sell off publicly owned art: in 2011, Bolton Council put up 35 works of art to be sold, including works by Millais, Picasso and Hutchison, and in 2006, Bury Council raised £1.4m by selling LS Lowry's ‘A Riverbank’.