Waterloo hero’s portrait moved as museum tries to decolonise

A PORTRAIT of Lt Gen Thomas Picton, once hailed as the hero of Waterloo, has been relegated to a museum’s side room as part of a project to “decolonise” the painting.

The image of the Welsh-born colonial governor of Trinidad was scrutinised in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests, removed from the walls of the National Museum Cardiff and put in storage as part of a “youth-led” project to highlight his links to slavery and empire.

Picton’s portrait has now been rehung at the museum in a side-room, alongside artwork and labels that reference his “brutal” colonial governorship.

The 19th-century painting of the governor and soldier, who was widely hailed as a hero following his death at

‘We directly involved people connected to Trinidad, where Picton entrenched his reputation for barbarism’

the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, formerly hung in the Faces of Wales hall alongside portraits of other figures who have shaped Welsh history.

The Reframing Picton project, which carried out the moving of the painting, stated: “For generations, saying ‘black lives matter’ has been controversial.

“We made a point to expose – not erase – history, and it was essential that we directly involved people connected to Trinidad, where Picton entrenched his reputation for barbarism during his tenure as Governor.”

The £12,000 project commissioned artworks to reference Picton’s colonial career, including a piece inspired by his sanctioning in 1806 of the torture of 14-year-old Trinidadian girl Louisa Calderon.

Picton’s statue has also been removed from the Heroes of Wales gallery in Cardiff City Hall.