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A video installation displayed at London’s National Portrait Gallery has been removed following controversy surrounding its depiction of Sir Winston Churchill’s involvement in the Bengal famine. The 40-minute work, created by artist Helen Cammock, included references to “the wilful starvation of the Indian population by Winston Churchill” during the 1943 famine, sparking significant debate.
The inclusion of this statement led to an open letter directed to the gallery by Lord Roberts of Belgravia, a biographer of Churchill. This letter, signed by more than 50 peers including Churchill’s grandson Sir Nicholas Soames, challenged the accuracy of the claim. They deemed the installation’s description of Churchill as an “ideologically motivated rant,” emphasizing that the famine was primarily caused by natural disasters such as a typhoon, and noting Churchill’s reported efforts to assist by urging his war cabinet and international leaders to provide grain aid.
Helen Cammock, who had collaborated with the National Portrait Gallery on the project titled Persistence since 2023, explained that her work was not intended as a documentary but rather as a personal and artistic reflection. The installation had been on temporary exhibit for ten months as part of a larger exhibition called ‘Artists First: Contemporary Perspectives on Portraiture.’ In her narration, Cammock linked Churchill’s role in the famine to Oliver Cromwell’s 17th century military campaigns in Ireland, highlighting themes of mass starvation.
Following the public backlash and media coverage, Cammock chose to withdraw her piece. The gallery noted that they respect both the artist’s choice and the responses from those offended by the film’s content. They stressed that the installation was presented as a creative expression and does not necessarily represent the gallery’s views. Cammock defended her work as grounded in academic discussion, intended to provoke thought about whose histories are celebrated and remembered, citing Nina Simone’s view that an artist’s role is to reflect the times, which may require questioning and challenging established narratives
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