[Many thanks to Peter Jordens for bringing this item to our attention.] Craig Simpson (The Telegraph) writes that the “portrait of former governor of Bank of England [Beeston Long, has been] draped with [madras] cloth to celebrate influence of Windrush Generation on Docklands,” in a gesture meant to “reclaim histories of colonised Caribbean nations.”
The portrait of a British slave owner has been hidden by a museum to “reclaim Caribbean history”.
Beeston Long, an investor and former Bank of England governor in the early 19th century, commissioned a large portrait that now hangs in the London Museum Docklands.
This artwork has been draped in multi-coloured cloth as part of a project intended to “reclaim the histories of colonised Caribbean nations”, and celebrate the influence of the Windrush Generation.
Long, who oversaw expansion of the Docklands in London, had investments in Jamaican plantations worked by slave labour.
New information panels at the museum explain that artwork which may “obscure” or “sanitise” its links to slavery can “evoke emotional responses”. They add that museums should give a “voice to those whose cultures have been impacted by colonialism”.
Long’s vast portrait is now symbolically half-covered by Madras cloth, a material exported to the Caribbean during the colonial period, following suggestions from affected individuals.
The symbolic shrouding follows the removal of a statue of slave trader Robert Milligan, a bronze piece that was taken from a plinth outside the museum in 2020, at the height of Black Lives Matter protests, on the orders of Tower Hamlets council. It is understood to still be in storage inside the museum. [. . .]
The latest intervention at the east London museum was made as part of a themed trail through the building that tells the story of the capital’s maritime trade, and the development of the riverside cityscape. [. . .]
For full article and other photos, see https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03/07/museum-covers-up-slave-trader-portrait-reclaim-history
[Many thanks to Peter Jordens for bringing this item to our attention.] Craig Simpson (The Telegraph) writes that the “portrait of former governor of Bank of England [Beeston Long, has been] draped with [madras] cloth to celebrate influence of Windrush Generation on Docklands,” in a gesture meant to “reclaim histories of colonised Caribbean nations.” The
