MFA Boston to Rescind Promised Gift of Benin Bronzes
In an unprecedented move for a United States arts institution, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, will return a promised gift of Benin Bronzes and close the collection’s dedicated gallery on April 28. The gallery will ultimately transition into a space for displaying the MFA Boston’s collection of Nubian art, a small selection of which will go on view beginning May 1, followed by a “more robust” display when the works return from a touring exhibition. The Benin Bronzes—a group of thousands of bronze and ivory objects looted from the West African kingdom of Benin (present-day Nigeria) by British forces in the 18th century—have helped upend Western museums’ approach to the exhibition of art acquired in violent contexts. Related Articles The MFA Boston opened its Benin gallery in 2013 after Robert Owen Lehman pledged to donate his collection of West African works from the 16th to the 18th centuries over time. Many works in the Lehman Collection, which was established in 1970s and 1980s “through purchase at public auction and from dealers, can be traced to …