Grantham Museum axes general manager after Thatcher statue clash
Museum disputes claim that it was offered statue
The role of general manager has been axed at Grantham Museum after Jayne Robb, who was previously in the post, claimed the home town of Margaret Thatcher had been offered a sculpture of the former prime minister.
According to local press reports, Robb was suspended after saying on BBC Radio Lincolnshire that the eight-foot-tall marble sculpture of Thatcher, by artist Neil Simmons, had been offered to Grantham Museum.
The museum reportedly said that Robb’s claim was “factually baseless”.
Museums Journal understands that Robb, who was appointed in September, is no longer in the post. She could not be reached for comment.
A museum spokesman said: “We have decided that the museum no longer has a need for the role of a general manager and would like to explore the option of recruiting a collections access officer for us to progress with some exciting exhibits and projects that we have in the pipeline.”
In July 2002, theatre producer Paul Kelleher decapitated the statue with a metal bar, when it was on show at the Guildhall Art Gallery in London. Kelleher received a three-month prison sentence in 2003.
The statue, which is owned by the Palace of Westminster, is currently on display in a glass case on the balcony of Guildhall Art Gallery.
John Scott, chairman of the Culture, Heritage and Libraries Committee at the City of London Corporation, said: “Neither David Pearson, the city’s director of culture, heritage and libraries, nor Sonia Solicari, the art gallery’s principal curator, was approached by any individual or organisation about offering the statue to the museum.”
According to local press reports, Robb was suspended after saying on BBC Radio Lincolnshire that the eight-foot-tall marble sculpture of Thatcher, by artist Neil Simmons, had been offered to Grantham Museum.
The museum reportedly said that Robb’s claim was “factually baseless”.
Museums Journal understands that Robb, who was appointed in September, is no longer in the post. She could not be reached for comment.
A museum spokesman said: “We have decided that the museum no longer has a need for the role of a general manager and would like to explore the option of recruiting a collections access officer for us to progress with some exciting exhibits and projects that we have in the pipeline.”
In July 2002, theatre producer Paul Kelleher decapitated the statue with a metal bar, when it was on show at the Guildhall Art Gallery in London. Kelleher received a three-month prison sentence in 2003.
The statue, which is owned by the Palace of Westminster, is currently on display in a glass case on the balcony of Guildhall Art Gallery.
John Scott, chairman of the Culture, Heritage and Libraries Committee at the City of London Corporation, said: “Neither David Pearson, the city’s director of culture, heritage and libraries, nor Sonia Solicari, the art gallery’s principal curator, was approached by any individual or organisation about offering the statue to the museum.”