From Peter Webb, Jersey Blue Badge Guide
THE JEP 13 January issue read ‘A people without pride’, the front page main headline to the winter closure of the Jersey and Maritime Museums and, at the moment, the permanent closure of Hamptonne Country Life Museum, except for special occasions.

I recently visited the John Everett Millais exhibition at the Tate Britain art gallery at Millbank, London. It carried an entry fee of around £12 for the two-hour visit of Millais’ works and the gallery was packed with viewers the whole time I was there.
I point this out because Tate Britain is in the capital city of the UK, one of the greatest cities on our planet, and it appeared that the whole world had arrived to see this extraordinary artist’s collection of works.

For those unaware of John Everett Millais (born 8 June 1829), he was one of the founder-members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and a prolific and honoured Victorian period artist, who was also the president of the Royal Academy in his later life. He died in 1896.

The Prince of Wales (later to become King Edward VII) chaired a memorial committee which commissioned a statue of this eminent artist to be installed at the Tate Gallery. This statue was eventually installed outside the front of the gallery in 1905.

In 1953 Tate director Sir Norman Reid wanted it replaced by Rodin’s John the Baptist. The attempt failed, but he tried again in 1962, once again failing to achieve his aim.

John Everett Millais’ statue is still in place outside Tate Britain, and seeing that John Everett Millais is deemed locally to be a Jerseyman, although born in Southampton (his mother was on her way home to Jersey from England at the time), I ask this: where is Jersey’s statue to this eminent and extremely talented artist whose work the world goes to see?

Incidentally, Millais’ statue was created by Sir Thomas Brock, who was knighted by Edward VII for his sculpture, the Imperial Memorial to Queen Victoria, which stands outside Buckingham Palace.

It would appear we are indeed ‘a people without pride’ in our heritage when Great Britain, its king, the Royal Academy and Tate Britain all honour John Everett Millais in such an exceptional way, and Jersey appears to do very little.

And what little we have of John Everett Millais’ work is behind closed doors.