Oxford City Council Considers Selling Biblical Roman Art Over Lack of Diversity

The Oxford City Council is considering the possibility of selling some Biblical paintings that adorn the town hall. This initiative intends to “better reflect the gender and ethnic diversity of [the] city”.

Liberal Democratic councillor Katherine Miles proposed the idea on March 20th, suggesting the removal or sale of two paintings: The Rape of the Sabine Women and Salome and Head of John the Baptist – one is of Roman mythology, whereas the latter depicts a biblical story.

Miles has been working on promoting diversity and representation in artwork at the Oxford City Council since June 2021. She believes that the paintings violate animal rights, showcase gender-based violence and display a lack of diversity. She believes the artwork contains fox hunting, representations of death, and depictions of rape.

Miles stated in an interview with the Oxford Mail that “with only three portraits in the town hall of women, it is high time the council redresses the existing lack of diversity within the town hall portraits to better reflect the gender and ethnic diversity of our city”.

Another Liberal Democrat councillor, Lawrence Fouweather, suggests that the artwork could be sold to alleviate the financial difficulties faced by local residents. Fouweather argues that the council is struggling with financial resources, and the cost of living crisis is affecting some of the residents severely.

However, Miles mentioned that selling existing artwork not on display, and deemed unworthy of a public institution, may be a way to fund the costs of improving decorations in the town hall. Critics such as Peter Whittle of the New Culture Forum in London disagreed with the proposal, stating that “our culture continues to be dismantled by nobodies, morons, and philistines”.

The verdict on the sale is yet to be determined. A spokesperson for Oxford City Council confirmed that “there is no council position on this matter” at present.

The Telegraph reports that “discussions about the diversity of public art in Oxford come after the city council created an Anti-Racism Charter in 2021, after pledging to tackle discrimination following Black Lives Matter protests the previous year.”