Written by Faith Freshwater and Lyndsey Black
Illustration by Harriet Sherlock
This piece was originally published in ‘Vestige’, Bossy’s 2023 print edition.
Lyndsey: To start, what is the role of the museum and gallery?
Faith: I think there is a central question on the purpose of museums – should they focus on items from elsewhere to educate people on other ways of life, or should they focus on local histories and cultivate a relationship with the land they sit on? If we use the monolithic and controversial presence of the British Museum as an example, despite many campaigns for items to be returned to their place of origin, it has held onto a colonial insistence on “ownership.” A popular argument in defence of their collection is education – the ability to see and learn about places far away. This strikes as disingenuous when their endless rooms boast half the Parthenon, an Easter Island Head, the Astrolabes, and many more significant works of cultural, scientific, and historical value. While the museum does inarguably strive for education and preservation, it is also clear that they believe themselves the most worthy and capable of dealing with these relics. There is a tricky balance between providing public access via a free museum and cutting off access to many other people around the world whose cultural and historical remains have been taken away and isolated from them.
Lyndsey: Museums are not the only places that are linked to the controversial collection of cultural material. The National Gallery of Australia has recently been in the news surrounding its return of three bronze sculptures to the Kingdom of Cambodia. The three sculptures in Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara Padmani with attendants originate from the Cham Kingdom and were made in the 9th to 10th century. The bronzes depict the important Buddhist deity, Bohisattva Avalokiteshvara who symbolises the virtue of compassion. The works were sold to the NGA in 2011 from a now discredited art dealer, Douglas Latchford. The provenance documentation of the works at the time of purchase has now proven to be incorrect, and the sculptures were illegally removed from Cambodia. This demonstrates the willingness of the National Gallery to enhance transparency of ethical collection practices through provenance investigations. The process of deaccessioning works of art that are problematic, returned or cannot be taken care of is less commonly spoken of.
Faith: Yeah, I have heard about a lot more situations where institutions have refused to give items back than times where they actually have! Usually they just enter “dialogues” for years with no solution.
Lyndsey: In the case of the repatriation of the Cambodian bronzes, they will be on loan to the NGA for the next three years. As a result, they will not return to their place of origin immediately, giving the opportunity for visitors in Canberra to appreciate the works before their physical return. The media attention surrounding their repatriation has strategically brought more public interest to the sculptures. It creates a reputation of the Gallery’s provenance policy and ethical decision making to return the sculptures.
Faith: Loan agreements do seem a good solution and are a great way to share resources through travelling exhibitions. Rotating and changing exhibits are often achieved by good relationships and open communication with other institutions. And otherwise, if museums and galleries aim to draw in tourists anyway then centring local histories will be new and interesting to them. Personally, I find it more meaningful to be learning the histories of places while I am visiting them.
Faith: Let’s discuss how policies and procedures operate in these spaces.
Lyndsey: Works in the NGA collection are able to be deaccessioned “if a work of art no longer falls within the parameters of the Acquisitions Policy or is no longer representative of the collection in line with National Gallery’s Vision and Collection Development Strategies at the time of deaccessioning.” Whilst this includes works of unethical provenance it also includes works that can no longer be cared for due to conservation management and fragility of certain materials amongst other reasons. In the 2021-2022 financial year, 621 works were deaccessioned “as part of an ongoing review to refine the national collection.” In the same year, 109 works were acquired, meaning the NGA collection is getting smaller, attributing more value to the works that are chosen to be acquired.
Faith: In dramatic contrast, the British Museum Act of 1963 legally means that the only times objects from that institution can be returned is if they are “unfit to be retained in the collection” and “can be disposed of without detriment to the interests of the public or scholars.” Another UK policy, the Charities Act 2022 allows museum trustees to override restrictions like this if there is a moral reason to return items – but this is stressed as only applicable in rare cases, which is questionable. Additionally, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum have stressed their exemption from this Act. It’s intentionally been made near impossible for these major collections predominantly made out of stolen items to return them.
Lyndsey: In the case of the repatriation of the Cambodian sculptures, their provenance was only questioned when the art dealer had allegations of illegal collecting from Cambodia. This makes me wonder the extent to which institutions are willing to return objects that have not been requested or surrounded in media controversy. Since 2014, the NGA has voluntarily repatriated over 250 works of art to their regions of origin. However, in a collection of over 155,000 works, this number seems less significant. The repatriation of works is perhaps pushed to the side if they do not have a controversial storyline to go with them.
Lyndsey: How do you think museums and galleries contribute to national image?
Faith: Art movements and famous artists can be a big part of national identity or national pride. Artists who did a lot of their work in a country, especially if a significant portfolio of their work remains in that country, often become a major representative of that place. In addition to their physical artworks, their homes and studios can also become heritage sites for tourism. Seeing artwork in the place it was created becomes an atmospheric and historical experience. Visiting the Netherlands, a lot of their tourism surrounded their famous artists. I was there while the biggest Vermeer exhibition to date was on at the Rijksmuseum which was heralded as a once in a lifetime opportunity. In March, tickets had already sold out until the end of the exhibition in June. I missed out on the Van Gogh Museum for similar reasons, as the tickets had sold weeks in advance. However, I was able to visit the general Rijksmuseum collection as well as Rembrandt’s house and studio.
Lyndsey: I had a similar experience whilst travelling in Italy this year. Florence is known as the most significant origin of Renaissance art. As an Art History student, people were shocked that I did not go to the Uffizi or Accademia Galleries whilst I was there. In reality, there was so much Renaissance art in other cultural institutions such as cathedrals, the baptistry, and in the streets! Residential building walls had Renaissance-style murals; marble statues were scattered in the piazzas; there was art everywhere! This made the environment feel so incredibly tied to its reputation as the birth city for Renaissance art, so much so that I did not feel disappointed in not visiting the more prominent galleries.
Faith: Absolutely. When I visited Rome, I encountered so much history and art without needing to seek it out – there are ruins preserved in the middle of city blocks, public sculpture, and so many churches all with their own stunning artwork.
Lyndsey: This makes us question whether art should be restricted to gallery spaces, as it is not always beneficial to collect art and remove it from its place of origin.
Faith: Exactly. While discussing national image it is worth mentioning that colonising nations often steal artefacts out of places they invade and display them as a point of pride and accomplishment. It is impossible to separate items from this history and appreciate them aesthetically or educationally. Additionally, very recently in August, the British Museum’s director and another staff member were caught up in a scandal of having over 2,000 of their objects stolen. This undermines the museum’s controlling claims of protection and proves that disrespect towards historical objects from people in power is an ongoing issue.
Faith: How does this influence collecting, display, and curation processes?
Lyndsey: Curation processes for major exhibitions consider important topics that are relevant to a wide audience of people. Therefore, if a work of art is not relevant to the present time, it is not displayed in a gallery. In August of 2023, the NGA had just over 1200 artworks on public display which is under 1% of the total collection! Whilst other works are on loan and touring regional galleries, it shows that there is a large amount of works held in storage, some that may never be seen in the Gallery as they do not speak to desirable topics.
Faith: What topics are interesting changes over time too. Museums and galleries are always trying to put on exhibitions that will interest people in the current moment and draw them in to visiting. Australia has a wonderful gallery culture with a lot of smaller state and regional galleries that are tapped into what is happening in the art world. National galleries have even more pressure to collect and display art that can be considered the best of the best and worthy of representing the nation as a whole.
Lyndsey: I agree. In its country of origin, an artwork immediately has significance as it speaks to the histories and stories of the nation’s past. Artworks are a vestige of their own cultures as they reflect the artist and their surroundings in a certain moment in time.
Faith: Shifting from institutions to items, how do objects and artworks operate as physical remnants of history?
Lyndsey: Artworks operate as a physical remnant of history through the themes, materials or ageing that has taken place on the work’s surface. The practice of conservation ensures the preservation of cultural material for future generations. As humans, we are focused on the idea of retaining the past and creating a record of our lives. Therefore, it is interesting to think about the cultural artefacts that had a function and were not intended to be displayed in a museum setting. The question arises whether conservation conceals the traces of history as it does not allow the objects to age in such ways that they would if they were not collected. However, once an object enters a museum collection, it is in the institution’s best interest to maintain the quality of the object.
Faith: Absolutely. The little I know about preservation techniques is fascinating. During my visit to the Rijksmuseum, Rembrandt’s The Night Watch, a centrepiece for the gallery with its own room, was being repaired on the floor. Apparently, it had been removed from display for a few months but for my visit it was shown inside a big glass box with a robot doing slow repair work on it. Additionally, there were information signs about the process and a staff member at a desk beside the work dedicated to answering questions. On one hand it was disappointing to have an obscured view of the painting and feel as if I was missing out on appreciating it fully. Yet, this was a truly unique viewing experience that gave me a greater appreciation for how artworks are physical objects that age and need maintenance, and that we as people find them important enough to look after them. So many works that need restoration are simply removed, but this one was significant enough that we worked out how to view it through its repairs.
Lyndsey: It is amazing the span of conservation and knowledge required to maintain so many different types of artefacts. Paintings are commonly conserved with the aim to replicate the artist’s original intention of the work. On the other hand, the conservation of natural artefacts such as animals or skeletal bones, is another sub-field that requires a different approach. It is interesting to consider how we handle material that was not created originally with the intention of being preserved.
Faith: I encountered lots of taxidermied animals while visiting museums in Europe. The Prague Museum had almost an entire floor dedicated to them separated into animals from each continent. I do not think I had ever encountered so much taxidermy in one space before. Their physical presence was extremely strong to me, being a preservation of life as well as history, especially the extinct animals.
Lyndsey: That is so interesting! Taxidermy is not widely displayed in Australia, but I understand the desire to preserve physical examples of our living and past cultures. It is a very humanistic tendency to want to preserve the past, no matter what kind of object or living creature it is. The collecting of artefacts by galleries and museums is a great example of holding onto the past. Through collection methods, policies and displays, it is clear that our own curiosity of the world has allowed us to form large assemblages of artefacts within many institutions. It is important to consider the extent to which these collections are ethical and constructive, however. This is particularly critical in the context of stolen artefacts. Artworks and objects are inherently tied to their creators and therefore speak more meaningfully in their places of origin. Museum and galleries are evidence of human curiosity about our pasts, and our desire to preserve what is disappearing from our world. Yet, it is also important to examine these pasts and contexts to move towards a future of respectful sharing and education between cultures.
References
BBC News. What we know about the British Museum thefts so far. August 27, 2023.
National Gallery of Australia. Policies & Plans.
National Gallery of Australia. Repatriations. 2023.
National Gallery of Australia. Annual Report 2021-22.
UK Public General Acts. British Museum Act 1963. Chapter 24. The National Archives, 1963.
UK Public General Acts. Charities Act 2011. Schedule 3. The National Archives, 2011.