Blair 'busted' for loaning Bush art

[ElsewheresDaughter]

A bronze bust of Winston Churchill, owned by the British Government Art Collection and paid for by the taxpayer, is at the centre of a row after it was loaned by Tony Blair to George W Bush.
The renowned Jacob Epstein sculpture that sits in President Bush's Oval Office was loaned to the White House four years ago, on orders from Blair's office, in an unprecedented act outside the strict remit of the collection.

The claim, to be made in a BBC radio documentary on Thursday and supported this weekend by art specialists, forms part of new scrutiny of the GAC and its backroom handling of tens of millions of pounds worth of British art each year.
'This is a little-known government arm that still works in surprising secrecy,' said Mark Whitaker, the reporter and presenter of the Radio 4 investigation. 'But it was clear the GAC are rather embarrassed by the loan to Bush. They could only tell me they didn't think it had happened before.'

The government's huge hidden collection is held inside an anonymous underground storehouse in Soho and contains around 12,000 works of art (five times more than the National Gallery owns).

The curators are given £200,000 a year to buy new pieces and the art is available for government ministers to request for display in their private offices. It is also sent out all over the globe to foreign embassies and consulates.

Intended as a showcase for British cultural life, the work has always stayed inside property owned by Britain. Until, that is, March 2001, when Blair's officials requested the President of the US should be loaned a bust of the British war-time premier.

George Bush, a fan of Churchill, who once described him as 'the best example of how individuals can shape history', now has sole use of the Epstein bust, despite the fact this sort of political or diplomatic presentation of GAC art is not sanctioned by founding principles drawn up in 1898.

'This is usually a well-run collection, but they should stick to their rules,' said Gill Hedley of the Contemporary Art Society this weekend.

The contentious bust was made by Epstein in 1946 following six short sittings with Churchill. Epstein, a Jewish American who moved to London and later took up British citizenship, is best known for Llandaff Cathedral's aluminium 'Christ In Majesty', as well as his nudes at the British Medical Association's London headquarters.

[Bluebear]

1. Good luck. He probably pawned it by now.

Or melted it down to make some rodeo statue.

[yorkiemommie1]

2. Blair is such a fan

he gives up his nation's blood, treasure and artwork to his beloved.

[Turbineguy]

3. "George Bush, a fan of Churchill"

I'm a fan of Einstein. But I'm not in his league either.

[NJCher]

4. Oh, I remember this one

Remember back when our U.S. media whores were lauding George Bush as the next Winston Churchill? We here at DU were howling over that one.

I can hear it now. "You're so much like Winston, George," says The Poodle. Chimpy passes it along to Karen Hughes and voila, the sycophants in the press corp lap it right up.

Can you imagine Winston Churchill hiding out from Cindy Sheehan? I didn't think so.




Cher