Art, Society and Performance

A selection of artworks spanning the 1950s to today, with an emphasis on the 21st century, are on display in the office of the Secretary of State for DCMS. Reflective of the recipient’s far-reaching responsibilities, the artworks conjure the breadth of UK culture today in which traditional and contemporary values complement each other. Overarching themes of portraiture, representation, theatre and performance cohabit with a sense of intimacy, materialised in a range of artistic media.

Standing strong on a small plinth is a bronze maquette of Gillian Wearing’s Courage Calls to Courage Everywhere (2018) depicting the suffragist and feminist leader, Millicent Fawcett, that can be seen in its full-size glory on Parliament Square – erected in 2018 to commemorate the Centenary of the Representation of the People Act 1918 and the first sculpture by and of a woman in this public space. Another powerful response to history is Lubaina Himid’s Le Rodeur: The Pulley (2017). This allegorical painting inhabited by two black female figures in a dream-like setting references the plight of a 19th century French slave ship Le Rodeur poignantly addressing the relationship between the slave trade and Empire.

Charles Mozley’s view The Procession in Whitehall, Coronation (1953) raises the role of spectacle within the making of history, showing the Queen’s golden coach being escorted along Whitehall amidst a clamouring crowd. The monarch is further present in a colour photograph portrait from 2014 by fashion and society photographer David Bailey, part of a set used to support the GREAT Britain campaign around the world.

A more elusive approach to portraiture features in Chantal Joffe’s Red-Haired Woman in a Park (2003), whose anonymised subject and setting seem strangely familiar, hanging just outside of the office.

For more information about each artwork scan the individual QR codes next to the artwork or click on the links above.