Banned TS Eliot portrait goes on show
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A portrait of the poet T S Eliot rejected by the Royal Academy in 1938 because it featured phallic references will be displayed at the National Portrait Gallery in a new exhibition.
A total of 58 works by the British modernist artist Wyndham Lewis have been gathered from collections around the world for the first time. The portraits range from delicate drawings to large paintings in oils, and feature some of early 20th-century culture's most important figures.
The aura of scandal has made Lewis's T S Eliot portrait perhaps the most celebrated of his works – the Royal Academy's objections lay in the background, which alludes to Eliot's modernist poem The Waste Land. The left-hand scroll above Eliot's head contains a phallic form. Lewis had hoped the portrait would be welcomed as Eliot was a famed man of letters, but it was sold to a South African gallery for £250.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments