Eric Gill sculpture vandalized in London amid ongoing statue removal debates
On Wednesday night, David Chick defaced Eric Gill's 1932 artwork, Prospero and Ariel, located at the BBC's Broadcasting House in London. He used a hammer to damage Ariel's feet and legs and inscribed graffiti referencing pedophilia and BBC propaganda. Chick, recognized for his 2003 crane protest as Spiderman advocating for fathers' custody rights, has sparked renewed discussions about the distinction between an artist's personal actions and their artistic merit. Gill, a contentious modernist who passed away in 1940, was disclosed in a 1989 biography to have sexually abused his daughters. This event prompts reflection on the future of controversial historical statues amid the heightened cultural discussions fueled by Black Lives Matter regarding social justice and public monuments.
Key facts
- Eric Gill's sculpture Prospero and Ariel (1932) was vandalized on Wednesday evening at BBC Broadcasting House in London
- David Chick used a hammer to damage the sculpture's feet and legs and scrawled anti-pedophilia graffiti
- Gill was revealed in a 1989 biography to have sexually abused his two young daughters
- The vandalism occurred days after the 'Colston Four' were acquitted for toppling Edward Colston's statue in Bristol in June 2020
- Gill died in 1940 and was never punished for his crimes during his lifetime
- Many of Gill's works remain in British national collections and adorn public buildings
- The incident has reignited debates about separating artistic quality from artists' personal deeds
- Britain has numerous colonial-era monuments that are subjects of ongoing removal debates
Entities
Artists
- Eric Gill
- David Chick
- Edward Colston
Institutions
- BBC
- ArtReview
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Bristol
- England