A video installation at the National Portrait Gallery has been withdrawn after a dispute arose concerning its depiction of Winston Churchill's actions during the 1943 Bengal famine. The 40-minute video, titled 'Persistence,' by Turner Prize-winning artist Helen Cammock, included a narration stating that Churchill was responsible for "the wilful starvation of the Indian population." This claim prompted an open letter to the gallery from Lord Roberts of Belgravia, a Churchill biographer, signed by over 50 peers including Churchill's grandson Sir Nicholas Soames, who asserted the statement was incorrect.
The National Portrait Gallery confirmed that the artist has removed the work from display. Cammock, who had been developing the installation with the gallery since 2023, stated that the piece was not a documentary and that her intention was to encourage open dialogue. "There is an incredible pressure on artists and arts institutions to bend to external pressure; to be benign at best and silent at worst," Cammock said in a statement. "I do not accept this pressure. To question, challenge and explore ideas and histories is vital to a healthy society and art is intrinsic to this."
The installation, which had been on temporary display for 10 months as part of the 'Artists First: Contemporary Perspectives on Portraiture' exhibition, explored Oliver Cromwell's 17th-century military campaigns in Ireland, drawing a parallel to Churchill's alleged role in the Bengal famine. Cammock's narration in the video suggested Cromwell "starved people, en masse," which she likened to Churchill's actions in Bengal.
The Bengal famine, which occurred in eastern India during World War II, resulted in an estimated three million deaths. The extent of the wartime British prime minister's responsibility for the famine has been a subject of historical debate. Lord Roberts' letter characterized the installation's description of Churchill as an "ideologically motivated rant." He contended that the famine was primarily caused by a typhoon and that Churchill had instructed his war cabinet to make every effort to assist those affected, even requesting international grain aid. Conversely, some historical analyses suggest that Churchill's policies exacerbated the famine's impact.
A member of the public also lodged a complaint directly with the gallery. In its response, a copy of which was seen by the BBC, the gallery defended the work as representing the artist's personal reflections and interpretations.