On the hypocrisy of woke museums

 Just once I'd like to visit a museum in the UK that hasn't fallen to the woke crowd.

This past year it seemed wherever I went there were little plaques apologizing for the sins of our forebearers. My recent trip to Cardiff was no exception, on the first day I went to the National Museum Cardiff. This is a nice mix with geological/natural history galleries on the ground floor, and artwork upstairs. When wandering through the collection of paintings I found this exhibition: Reframing Picton – from idea to exhibition. 

Apparently having a portrait of a former colonial governor is now unthinkable. While the exhibition makes clear his conduct as governor has some issues, they also admit this caused outcry back home and a trial, which is not something that would have happened in other contemporary colonial powers. 

Here is the painting as currently displayed, they have at least kept it,  even if it is partly obscured by the packing crate: 

What really annoyed me about this museum though it wandering around I noticed this sculpture: 


Closer inspection revealed it to be by notorious pedo Eric Gill

Note how there is no mention of his sexual abuse of his own daughters, no big expensive investigation into the ethics of displaying his works. It seems to the NMW being an 18th-century colonialist is worse than being a sex offender.

Finally, modern art and galleries in a nutshell, a lovely old oil painting, obscured by a pile of cardboard boxess!



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