Rolf Harris’s Home Town Votes to Scrub His Artworks From Existence

As Rolf Harris awaits sentencing for his indecent assault of four young girls, councillors in his home town of Bassendean have voted to remove his artworks from public display.

The town had previously removed a photo of Harris from the council chambers, and they will now remove the rest of his artworks, placing them indefinitely in storage. 

The town will also remove a commemorative plaque that had been placed outside his childhood home.
“It has been a hard week, a tough week for the Town of Bassendean,” said Mayor John Gangell, as reported by Perth Now.

“We ultimately decided to take a stance and draw a line in the sand.” 

He went in to say that, following Harris’s conviction, it is no longer appropriate for the town to exhibit his artworks, or convey any special status on him. “We have decided that the victims are first foremost in this decision tonight.”

While councillors voted unanimously to strip Harris of his Freeman status in the town, the vote to remove his artworks was split by 4-2. Deputy Mayor Mike Lewis, who voted to keep the artworks, argued that it’s still possible to separate the man from his works.

“I look at the artwork as purely art,” he said. “I see Rolf Harris, the man himself, with all his flaws and what he’s done, and the art’s totally separate as art.”
“History has a lot of cases where people of unsavoury nature have their art on display,” he continued, “but history will judge the decision. It’s highly unlikely that anybody will ever see that artwork again.” 
A Harris portrait of Queen Elizabeth, which was displayed in Buckingham Palace in 2006, was thought to be in the collection of the BBC, but they have denied any knowledge of its whereabouts.

Harris’s sentence will likely be handed down overnight.

Photo: Dan Kitwood via Getty Images

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