Andrew Doyle

Eric Gill’s crimes were unforgivable, but his statue is blameless

(Photo: Getty)

I like to think of myself as a latter-day Mother Shipton. I may not live in a cave in the north of Yorkshire, but I do occasionally dabble in prophecy. And, like Mother Shipton, I am accurate approximately roughly one per cent of the time.

And I can prove it. In a diary piece for the Spectator in June 2020, I wrote the following: ‘Is it really any great leap to suppose that the same activists who would see a statue of Mahatma Gandhi toppled for his ‘problematic’ views might not wish the same fate on Eric Gill’s sculpture of Prospero and Ariel on the facade of the BBC’s Broadcasting House?’ This week, a man fulfilled my prediction by climbing a ladder and attacking Gill’s work with a hammer.

If you sanction vandalism for your own particular cause, you shouldn’t be surprised when the same tactics are deployed elsewhere

In truth, it didn’t take any great powers of divination to see this one coming. In his diaries, Gill admitted to sexual relations with his sisters and to molesting two of his daughters and the family dog. Had this information been public knowledge in 1932, the sculpture would doubtless never have been commissioned. And given the vogue for statue-toppling in the current climate, how could Prospero and Ariel possibly survive?

Inevitably, many commentators are making the connection between this act of vandalism and the recent acquittal of the ‘Colston Four’. Although the verdict does not necessarily set a legal precedent, it could be seen as a green light to others who might feel inclined to deface public monuments of which they disapprove. Hannah Arendt wrote of the self-defeating nature of political violence, and how ‘the means used to achieve political goals are more often than not of greater relevance to the future world than the intended goals.’

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in