Let’s ignore George Clooney’s vapid comments about the Elgin Marbles

George Clooney may be many things, but an art historian he is not. Speaking at a press conference promoting his new film The Monuments Men, both he and co-star Bill Murray waded into the long-running row about the Elgin Marbles. The British Museum should hand them back, they both said. Murray began with a twee plea:

‘They’ve had a very nice stay here, certainly. London’s gotten crowded. There’s plenty of room back there in Greece. England can take the lead on this kind of thing – letting art go back where it came from. The Greeks are nothing but generous. They would loan it back once in a while.’

Clooney then waded in with a measly dose of cultural finesse:



‘Even in England, the polling is in favour of returning the marbles to the Pantheon [sic].