Eric Gill: Our Response
Reviewed September 2024
Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft presents the work of the many artists who made Ditchling a creative hub in the 20th Century, including sculptor and printer Eric Gill (b. 1882, d. 1940).
Gill’s abuse of his daughters came to public notice in Fiona McCarthy’s 1989 biography.
Statement from the Director and Trustees of Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft
February 2021
For many years the staff, trustees and our colleagues outside the institution have been engaged in a difficult and at times emotional process of deciding how we should present and interpret the work of Eric Gill – an artist central to our narrative and whose importance to art and design history in the UK and around the world is impossible to ignore, but whose diaries record that he sexually abused his daughters as well as participating in other disturbing sexual acts.
The trustees operate within these two positions: we absolutely condemn Eric Gill’s abuse of his daughters with no attempt to hide, excuse, normalise or minimise, yet we also have a duty to protect, display and interpret the art work we hold in our collections.
Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft exists to tell the story of the artistic and craft community of the village, the lives of the individuals, how they worked, were educated and interacted. We therefore do not, and cannot, see their work in isolation from their biography.
This work is an ongoing process that was confronted head on with the museum’s 2017 exhibition Eric Gill: The Body. The exhibition specifically addressed this subject and posed the question to visitors – ‘Is it possible to enjoy Gill’s art when we know about his abuse?’
The board of trustees and museum staff continue to be engaged with these issues and to work on how we can best interpret and communicate them to the public, sensitively and without sensationalism.
The museum is actively engaged in work that will feed into further revision of this policy in the year ahead.
This is a film of a seminar “Curating Challenging Collections” held at the museum in partnership with the Centre for Design History at the University of Brighton which looks at the exhibit co-curated by the museum with abuse survivors.
Resources and Support
Childline
National Helpline: 0800 1111
https://www.childline.org.uk
Childline is a counselling service for children and young people up to their 19th birthday in the United Kingdom provided by the NSPCC.
Rape Crisis
24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line: 0808 500 2222
rapecrisis.org.uk
National organisation offering support and counselling for those affected by rape and sexual abuse. See website for local groups or contact directory enquiries.
Refuge
National Domestic Abuse Helpline (24hrs): 0808 2000 247
refuge.org.uk
Refuge has grown to become the largest provider of emergency accommodation and emotional and practical support to women and children in the country.
Survivor’s Network, Sussex
Helpline: 01273 720 110 (Mondays from 7-9pm and Wednesdays from 12-1.30pm)
survivorsnetwork.org.uk
Support for survivors of sexual violence and abuse in Sussex.
Survivors UK – Male Rape and Sexual Abuse Support
survivorsuk.org
Support for male rape and sexual abuse survivors.
Victim Support
Supportline: 08 08 16 89 111
victimsupport.org.uk
Confidential, free and available to anyone who’s been raped or sexually assaulted, now or in the past
Women’s Aid Federation
womensaid.org.uk
Women’s Aid is the national domestic violence charity that helps up to 250,000 women and children every year.