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British Arts Expert Speaks Out Against Repatriation

The October 2003 issue of Art and Auction, recently redesigned into a posh over-sized magazine format, carries an article by Norman Rosenthal, Exhibitions Secretary of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, that explores the theme of governmental restrictions in the art field.

While much of the article focuses on the highly publicized battle over whether the British government will permit exportation of a Raphael purchased by the Getty Museum, Rosenthal launches into a well-presented discussion on the related issue of cultural repatriation:

"While we are on the subject, Greece is unbelievably strict about cultural exports. The Greeks are so keen on Greek art that they have virtually no collections of non-Greek art. In fact, I often think that it would be better for Greece to have 20 or 30 paintings by Turner than to have the Elgin Marbles back. One of the reasons that Paris, London and New York are great metropolitan cities is that you have a kind of universal attitude toward culture, enriched by fabulous collections built up from all around the world, largely in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century."

"But instead of diversifying, these days most countries are becoming increasingly nationalistic about their culture. In the first world or the third, people demand the return of works of art that they believe were wrongly taken from them. There's even talk of the Rosetta Stone going back to Egypt, though thankfully, as with the Elgin marbles, this is unlikely to happen. It's a funny idea of national heritage and property. I believe we hold a piece like the Rosetta Stone in trust on behalf of the world. We've had it a long time and it has been looked after well, as have the Elgin Marbles. Not only would it be absurd for both of those great pieces to leave London, it would impoverish the world. Those countries, which are already so rich in their own heritage, would do far better to concentrate on collecting works from other places."