Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

National Gallery publishes research into slave trade links

National Gallery publishes research into slave trade links

Project highlights links between slave-ownership, art collecting and philanthropy in 19th-century Britain

The National Gallery has published detailed research into its links to the slave trade – including the connections of John Julius Angerstein, whose series of Old Master paintings formed the nucleus of the gallery when it was founded in 1824.

The data, covering mainly the period between 1824 and 1880, records at least 67 trustees and donors, as well as some important sitters and painters, with links to the slave trade. A further 27 named people were associated with the abolitionist movement, and another 17 had links to both slavery and abolition – highlighting the many links between slave-ownership, art collecting and philanthropy in 19th-century Britain.

Research began in 2018, predating the Black Lives Matter movement of 2020, which shone a spotlight on the issue. According to the gallery’s website, the project scrutinises “what links to slave-ownership can be traced within the gallery, and to what extent the profits from plantation slavery impacted our early history”.

The gallery took an all-encompassing approach when identifying people’s connections with slavery, including direct links or those arising out of relationships, a professional encounter or through third-party ownership of a painting formerly belonging to a collector involved in the slave trade.

Thomas Gainsborough, for example, the leading portrait painter in England in the later 18th century, painted three portraits of sitters with links to the slave trade – all presently in other collections. These included The Byam Family (1762-66, on long-term loan to Holburne Museum, Bath), The Baillie Family (about 1774, now at the Tate), and Ignatius Sancho (1768, now at the National Gallery of Canada).

The National Gallery says the project scrutinises ‘to what extent the profits from plantation slavery impacted our early history’.


The most notable person researched was Angerstein, who in 1824 sold 38 paintings to the British government to establish the National Gallery’s collection.

Working for what became Lloyd’s of London, Angerstein amassed a fortune through broking and underwriting marine insurance. “An unknown proportion of this was in slave ships and vessels bringing to Britain produce cultivated in the Caribbean by enslaved people,” the gallery reports. “Angerstein acted as a trustee of estates and enslaved people in Grenada and Antigua.”

The National Gallery is embarking on further research to cover collectors from 1640 and trustees and donors from 1880 to 1920.

A spokesperson said the gallery acknowledged that its collection “has a particular, historically rooted character” but stressed they “have not, and will not remove any picture from display because of its association with slavery”.

She added: “If anything, we want to engender discussion and understanding about these questions. A great deal of work had been undertaken by the curatorial team in this area, and the picture labels in the gallery mark clearly where paintings are associated with slavery.”

Hakim Adi, professor of the history of Africa and the African diaspora at the University of Chichester, welcomed the gallery’s research but said it was “much too little, much too late”.

“It is always a step in the right direction when it is recognised that it was the labour of exploited and enslaved Africans that created much of the wealth that made Britain ‘great’,” he said. “However, it has been well-known for centuries that all the major institutions in Britain, from the Bank of England to the Church of England to the monarch, were involved in this great crime against humanity.

“Acknowledgment is a very fine thing but it is not a reparation for that crime. Indeed, I see no mention that the National Gallery is planning to do anything as a result of this research. It doesn’t appear to want to extend its inquiry into the period after 1920, nor to extend it to the colonial exploitation of those in Africa, Asia and elsewhere.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Dutch government falls as far-right leader Wilders quits coalition
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
×