Larry Acheampong’s art sparks ‘outrage’ after portrait of Queen Elizabeth replaced in Foreign Office | art

Artist Larry Acheampong was in the middle of a karate class this weekend when he took a break, looked at his phone and realized he was embroiled in a brewing culture war.

A series of media outlets have reported that a portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II by David Bailey has been “dumped” in favor of works by Acheampong and Lubena Hamid and Yinka Shonibare, which has taken its place at the Foreign Office.

The Telegraph originally reported on David Lammy’s decision to suspend the Ghanaian Brit, with GB News reporting on the “outrage” caused by the move. The Daily Mail headline read: “David Lammy’s Foreign Office removes portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in favor of African flags.”

The work comes from the Government Art Collection (GAC), managed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and contains thousands of pieces.

It is common for new governments to change the works that are hung, but the fact that some artworks “seem to reference and criticize colonialism” prompted UK reformist MP Lee Anderson to brand Lammy “weak” and claim: “He is forever criticizing our history.”

Achiampong’s work is the Pan-African Flag of the Antiquarian Travelers’ Alliance (Movement) hanging in the State Department and is a large green, yellow and red design featuring 54 black stars representing all the nation states on the African continent.

Speaking to The Guardian, Acheampong said coverage of his work was linked to growing anti-immigrant sentiment exacerbated by elements of the media.

He said: “The uproar over the fact that the Queen’s image was replaced with African colours reflects the narrative of ‘the immigrants are here, they are coming, they are taking over everything’,” he said, describing the angle of some reports as “very problematic”.

Hamid’s 2021 work Old Boat, New Weather, which represents “slavery and imperial trade”, was juxtaposed with a small version of Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle from Shonibar, a replica of Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory, The Telegraph reported. The original sat at fourth base in 2010.

“They don’t think about what I, Yinka Shonibare or Lubina Hamid have given or allocated to the general public within the UK,” Acheampong added. “We celebrate and award artists who have done amazing things in our work.”“.

Hamid will represent the UK at next year’s Venice Biennale and won the Turner Prize in 2017, while Shonibare was nominated for a Turner Prize in 2004, became a Royal Academician in 2013 and was awarded an OBE in 2019.

Achiampong’s African flag design also appears on the circular ring of Westminster tube station where it was installed in 2022 by Transport for London.

The British-Ghanaian artist said the purpose of his painting, which was commissioned with support from Arts Council England, is to make people think about nationalism.

“My practice has always been — to some extent — about getting under the skin to talk about these issues,” he said. “If this pisses people off, then in some way it means the job is done“.

The issue of pictures and objects hanging in government offices has made headlines since Labor came to power in 2024.

The removal of Margaret Thatcher’s portrait from 10 Downing Street showed that Keir Starmer “wants to drag Britain down”, according to former Conservative minister John Redwood.

Rachel Reeves was also criticized after she said she intended to replace every painting in the State Room at 11 Downing Street with artwork by or by women.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been contacted for comment.

DCMS has not provided a comment but The Guardian understands that David Bailey’s Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) is currently at the GAC.