David Hockney slams plans to loan Bayeux Tapestry to the United Kingdom
Artist David Hockney has hit out at plans for the Bayeux Tapestry to move to London for an exhibition at the British Museum.
According to Hockney, this idea is nothing short of “madness”. Further, Hockney states that the piece, which is “beautiful as well as historically important”, could be damaged in transit and “will be put in jeopardy if it is moved to London”.
The 88-year-old artist made his opinion clear in a piece for The Independent, questioning disagreeably: “To what end? The vanity of a museum which wants to boast of the number of visitors. Is it really worth it? I think not.”
Hockney is a huge fan of the Bayeux Tapestry, which he first visited in 1967 and has seen over 20 times in the past three years alone. “Modern museum practice is meant to prioritise preservation over access,” Hockney continues.
“While moving the Bayeux Tapestry to the UK might have vanity and symbolic educational value, the physical and environmental risks are substantial,” he stressed.
Hockney appears to have done his research, citing the linen backing, which has been weakened by age, and the wool embroidery threads, which are vulnerable to stress, as the key issues.
As such, he explains, “Rolling, unrolling, or hanging it in a new way can cause tearing, stitch loss, and distortion of the fabric.”
In response to Hockney’s opinion piece, the director of the British Museum, Nicholas Cullinan, has stated: “While we understand these concerns, the museum has a world-leading conservation and collections team who are experts at handling and caring for this type of material.”
Cullinan went on, “We send and receive thousands of loans each year, including ancient frescoes and textiles which are older than the Bayeux tapestry, and their condition and safety is always of paramount importance.”
The loan comes with a price; in exchange, some artifacts, such as the Lewis chessmen, the Sutton Hoo helmet, the Mold gold cape, and the Dunaverney flesh hook, will travel to Normandy.
In 2025, a piece of the infamous Bayeux Tapestry was found in an archive in the Schleswig-Holstein State archive in the north of Germany.
