The Manchester Gallery of Art's Curator of Contemporary Art, Clare Gannaway, has removed "Hylas and the Nymphs," the 1896 painting by J.W. Waterhouse, from public view.
Prompted by the #MeToo movement and concerns over sexual harassment, she says the purpose of the removal is to 'prompt conversation' about the Museum's collection of Victorian nudes.
The removal of the painting was filmed and was also intended also to publicize an upcoming exhibition of Sonya Boyce. She claims the removal is temporary but hasn't set a date for the painting to be restored to the walls. The notecards have also been removed from the gift shop.
Gannaway posted a placard in place of the missing painting (read the text here), and invited museum guests to write their reactions on Post-It notes.
There's also a comment section on the Museum's website that says "Get involved in the conversation." But it's heavily moderated, and many comments on the Museum's discussion page have been deleted. Gannaway has not answered questions posed to her in the forum, nor has she responded to my emailed request for comment.
Gannaway says the part of the museum which houses Victorian nudes "presents the female body as either a ‘passive decorative form’ or a ‘femme fatale’. Let’s challenge this Victorian fantasy!"
She wants to re-contextualize the collection of Victorian nudes. "For me personally," she said, "there is a sense of embarrassment that we haven’t dealt with it sooner."
What strikes me first off is how profoundly she misunderstands the Waterhouse painting. Isn’t it more accurate to regard the painting as an image of female power? Hylas is a member of the Argonauts sent to fetch water, and the painting shows the fateful moment when the nymphs kidnap him into their realm.
The nymphs are hardly a ‘passive decorative form’ but rather forceful enough to abduct one of the favorites of Heracles. Nor are they femme fatales, because they don’t kill Hylas. Dryope induces him to love her as part of Hera’s plan.
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| Waterhouse's Circe |
If Gannaway wants to explore art that portrays complex, confident women, she should celebrate Waterhouse rather than banning him. Take a look at his paintings of Circe, Medea, Penelope, Pandora, the Naiads, Harpies, and the sorceress of The Magic Circle. They are all very active characters from myth and legend.
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| "Hylas and the Water Nymphs" by Henrietta R. Rae, who 'saw herself primarily as a painter of classical themes with a strong emphasis on the female nude' (Christies) |
Or she should look at the work of women artists who painted themes similar to those of Waterhouse.
But at least she should start the discussion by putting up the paintings back up on the walls so we can look at the paintings instead of being forced to read Gannaway's views of politics and arguing via Post-it notes and tweets.
As it stands, her action has cynically co-opted the energy of the #MeToo movement and shifted the debate to whether museums should censor works of art on political grounds.
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| Cartoon by Nik Scott |
In the end, Gannaway may wish to ‘contextualize’ the Victorian nudes with whatever caption she likes, but why not let the public have access to a work of art that was made nearly a century was before she was born and has been beloved by the public since that time?
People go to see original art in museums for many reasons. In the case of us working realist painters, we look to Waterhouse as a master of composition and paint technique, quite apart from the social messages that may or may not be in his work. The public has a interest in seeing its heritage in art displayed without a lot of curatorial manipulation and politicization. Gannaway needs to remember that as a museum employee she is a trustee of the public interest. What is a Museum but a haven of the muses?
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Historical context: In 1913, artworks in Manchester Gallery of Art were attacked by suffragettes.
The Guardian initial story: Gallery removes naked nymphs painting to 'prompt conversation'
Rebuttal by Jonathan Jones: Why have mildly erotic nymphs been removed from a Manchester gallery? Is Picasso next?
Comments on Twitter: can use hashtag #MAGSoniaBoyce.
Contact Gannaway directly: via the Museum's website.
Comments on Twitter: can use hashtag #MAGSoniaBoyce.
Contact Gannaway directly: via the Museum's website.
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