Culture shock: billionaires quit plum roles in the arts
Major moves at the top of British institutions with surprising departures by telecoms tycoons
AS TWO of the founders of Carphone Warehouse, David Ross and Sir Charles Dunstone have a great deal in common. They both went to the same public school, forged stellar careers becoming billionaires, donated to the Conservative Party and are generous patrons of the arts.
But this weekend it emerged that both men are leaving roles at the helm of two world renowned British institutions – the Royal Opera House and Royal Museums Greenwich – amid claims the Government is waging a “culture war”. However, the reasons for their departures appear very different.
Sir Charles, 56, quit as chairman of the Royal Museums Greenwich after he clashed with Oliver Dowden, the Culture Secretary, over granting a second term to a trustee and academic whose work had supported “decolonising” the curriculum. It emerged he stepped down in February after Mr Dowden refused to backtrack on his decision not to reappoint to the museum’s board Aminul Hoque, a lecturer in educational studies at Goldsmiths, University of London whose work advocates “decolonising” the curriculum.
The academic and writer told the Financial Times he remained “shocked, disappointed and baffled” by Mr Dowden’s decision. Sir Charles declined to comment.
The move comes at a time when the Government is fighting back against critics of Britain’s history and prominent cultural institutions. Under Mr Dowden’s leadership, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport(DCMS) has vetoed numerous reappointments, as well as placed friends in high places.
Last week, the minister nominated Sir Robbie Gibb, the former Downing Street director of communications, to the BBC board. Jacob Rees-Mogg has also joined the board of the National Portrait Gallery in London. It is to that art gallery on St Martin’s Place in central London that Mr Ross, 55, is apparently to focus his attention now.
It is understood he is quitting the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden just nine months into chairmanship because he plans to renew a second term as the chairman of the National Portrait Gallery, apparently offered to him by Mr Dowden.
One source told Sky News he was being urged to stay at the gallery due to the “contested history” of the gallery’s works, a reference perhaps to how some paintings celebrated Britain’s colonial past. His departure is even more unusual because he personally intervened to save the company from financial ruin during the pandemic by buying a David
Hockney painting of the institution’s former boss, Sir David Webster, for nearly £13 million. The portrait was promptly returned on loan to the arts venue where it hangs pride of place.
Sir Simon Robey, a former chairman of the opera house and its current honorary vice-president, is expected to take over as interim chair.
Mr Ross certainly has close links to senior Conservatives. It emerged he “facilitated accommodation” on Mustique in the Caribbean for Boris Johsnon and Carrie Symonds in 2019.
But, it remains to be seen whether George Osborne, the former Conservative chancellor, whom Mr Ross was said to have pipped to the post as Royal Opera House chairman will be the first choice to take over.
A spokeswoman for the DCMS said: “We have no role in the appointment processes for the positions on the board of the Royal Opera House.
“All public appointments are considered in line with the Government Code for Public Appointments.