BRONZE SCULPTURE WORTH $1.5MN AT UK PM RISHI SUNAK’S GARDEN SPARKS ROW

Mon 28 November 2022:

The UK government has been heavily chastised for spending £1.3 million ($1.5 million) of taxpayers’ money on a bronze sculpture by a well-known English artist.

The statue was then delivered to No. 10 Downing Street and placed in the garden of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s new residence.

The Sun reported that Henry Moore’s “Working Model for Seated Woman”, an abstract 1980 sculpture, was sold at a Christie’s auction and acquired by the taxpayer-funded Government Art Collection last month.

At a time when the country is battling sky-high inflation, a cost-of-living crisis, and cost-cutting measures across public funding, the expense is being seen as an extravagance that could have been avoided.

“It is a fine piece and an important example of Moore’s collection of seated women sculptures,” an expert told the newspaper.

“However, it may be considered an extravagant use of public funds, particularly given the economic climate,” the expert said.

Downing Street tried to wade itself out of the controversy by saying that no politicians were involved in the decision to acquire the artwork.

Describing the art piece, Christie’s website says, “It conveys a strong sense of maternity and pregnancy.”

“It lauds the gentle watchfulness of the woman’s face and her guarded posture to the protective nature of her arms and the architectural shelter she offers between her lap and shoulders,” the website adds.

This is not a new issue, as a Moore piece has graced the garden of 10 Downing Street for the past 40 years. At the request of the late sculptor’s charitable foundation, works are rotated on a regular basis.

Over 14,000 such valuable art pieces are housed in buildings across the political establishment at Whitehall in London and around the world in the UK government’s art collection.

Henry Spencer Moore, who died in 1986, is widely regarded as one of the most influential British artists of the twentieth century. He is arguably the most well-known sculptor of his generation.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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