The shadow foreign secretary, has written to her counterpart, Dominic Raab, asking him to express his views on the paintings illustrated on the Foreign Office grand staircase. Lisa Nandy, has flagged her concerns about murals in which the Anglo-Saxon empire is triumphantly portrayed, including one in which Africa is depicted as a little naked boy carrying a fruit basket.
These paintings which conveyed UK’s attitude to imperialism, made the former Labour foreign secretary Robin Cook uncomfortable. Now, in the aftermath of the on-going Black Lives Matter protests, Nandy whose parents were immigrants from India, has raised similar concerns.
These paintings were commissioned in 1914 and completed in 1921, at the time of the Versailles Treaty by Sigismund Goetze. They consist of five large narrative paintings designed to show the origin, education, development, expansion and triumph of the British empire.
The Foreign Office is also criticised for the statue of Clive of India on its steps but the FCO claims no responsibility for its position. However, these murals cannot be dismissed as someone’s else’s responsibility. Former Labour governments have removed artworks that they regarded as no longer appropriate, including a picture of the prince of Nepal.
Beside the murals, is a contemporary memorandum presented by Goetze to the cabinet described as “a little Swaheli boy”. He said “the boy had been included to remind us of our obligations, and the possibilities, in the dark continent”.
