[mlmpetert]

Originally Posted by 12thMan

Pretty remarkable that we've had these many exchanges and still don't eye to eye. The purpose of the White House blog is not to debunk baseless right wing theories as to the location of artwork. The White House has an entire office dedicated to that. So that, you know, the president and his staff can focus on governing.

White House Art | The White House

Curator's Office - White House Museum

Haha, couldnt agree more.... at least thats one thing right?


What i find problematic is the way Pfeiffer handled the whole thing. I think everyone would agree Pfeiffer made a mistake and maybe even went a little rouge in what hes otherwise supposed to be “reporting” on.

But this isn’t some baseless right wing theory. It’s a well known thing, carried on by some ignored by others. Honestly before last week didn’t you think the artwork was returned a little hastily? I think Saden1 even thought that it was returned perhaps in an insisting way. And that’s the whole point. No one really cares whos correct in mentioning the exact whereabouts of the bust. The whole issue which has been and is still being ignore is how the bust got to where it is.

First to break the story of the Churchill bust being returned to the British Embassy was The Sunday Telegraph’s Tim Shipman (now at The Daily Mail), who wrote in February 2009:

Barack Obama has sent Sir Winston Churchill packing and pulse rates soaring among anxious British diplomats. A bust of the former prime minister once voted the greatest Briton in history, which was loaned to George W Bush from the Government's art collection after the September 11 attacks, has now been formally handed back.
The bronze by Sir Jacob Epstein, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds if it were ever sold on the open market, enjoyed pride of place in the Oval Office during President Bush's tenure.
But when British officials offered to let Mr Obama to hang onto the bust for a further four years, the White House said: "Thanks, but no thanks."

Two weeks earlier, in January 2009, The Times had revealed the bust had been removed from the Oval Office and placed in storage, in a piece headlined: "Churchill bust casts shadow over the Special Relationship" (no longer online, but available on news databases such as Lexis/Nexis). Significantly, The Times noted that the British government, led at the time by Gordon Brown, was keen for the bust to go back to the Oval Office:

Britain wants President Obama to put a bronze bust of Sir Winston Churchill back in the Oval Office, where it stood for the past eight years as a symbol of an enduring special relationship with America. The White House is not so sure.
Shortly before Mr Obama's inauguration, the Jacob Epstein bronze is understood to have been removed and placed in storage by White House curators. Recent photographs show that a bust of Abraham Lincoln, one of the new President's heroes, has been moved to take the position once occupied by Churchill.
The bronze was lent to George Bush by Tony Blair in 2001 from the Government Art Collection for the duration of his presidency. It is now due to be returned.
However, a spokesman for the British Embassy in Washington said yesterday: "We have made it clear that we would be pleased to extend the loan should Mr Obama so wish." He added that no response had been received; yesterday the White House declined to comment.

Churchill bust debacle: ‘amateurish’ Obama White House remains firmly in denial over snub to Britain – Telegraph Blogs