The future of Tate Britain’s Rex Whistler Room is in jeopardy. Among the most notable British art from the 1500s till today, is the Rex Whistler Restaurant. The white linen and tablecloth setting is a part of the wall to ceiling, wrap-around the room mural. The mural is entitled “The Expedition in Pursuit of Rare Meats, painted by the British painter, Reginald John “Rex” Whistler. The cause of the fervor around the mural is centered around what it displays. The mural depicts a fictional hunting scene featuring enslaved black children being led on a leash as well as caricatures of enslaved Chinese characters. The Expedition in Pursuit of Rare Meats mural was issued in 1927, commissioned by Tate Britain’s director Charles Aitken to hang in a room of the Rex Whistler Restaurant to commemorate its opening. Yes, the characters painted in the mural have always been a whispered source of controversy. The mural’s intent for the Rex Whistler Restaurant was to show a hunting expedition led by a high-ranking Duke.
The hunting expedition scenes display dogs, children, women, and slaves involved in the hunting, killing, and cooking of meals consisting of various types of meats. However, not until the Black Lives Matter movement occurred did the mural receive such public attention. The Tate Britain showed support for the movement and as such the gallery’s Board of Trustees and its Ethics Committee took a stand that the mural was too offensive to hang in this notable museum’s restaurant. The Art Newspaper was the first media outlet to publish the behind-the-scenes discussion on the Expedition mural. The beginning conversations included whether the Rex Whistler Restaurant should close its doors permanently. Ironically, many persons have dined in the Rex Whistler Restaurant but did not know that the mural that was featured in this popular dining atmosphere featured such racist characters. Not many people looked closely at the painting, but rather enjoyed the fancy ambiance and the top chef-prepared meals. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant had already been closed for more than a year. The mural had previously been renovated in 2013 and even then there were talks about its racist context.
What makes this story memorable is the tourist theme surrounding the Rex Whistler Room mural. The Expedition in Pursuit of Rare Meats is on the British tourist must-see mural “in the most amusing room in Europe. Unfortunately, Tate Britain can not afford the negative publicity surrounding the mural. The Ethnic Committee, the Tate Britain, and government officials are still in talks. There are suggestions to close the restaurant in totality or to just close the room where the mural is housed. Steps have already been taken to remove the tourist attraction connotation from Tate’s website and other tourist publications. Talks are still ongoing. The Tate Britain was originally scheduled to open in August 2021. The Tate Britain is one in the network of distinguished Tate art galleries – Tate Liverpool, Tate Modern, and Tate St. Ives. Closing the Tate Britain would be a devastating financial blow to Tate’s notable art-world reputation. In the meantime, the gallery has issued a statement noting that the Tate Britain gallery and the Rex Whistler Room will remain open. The mural’s depiction has been made public and its offensive imagery will be dealt with at a future date. London’s Mayor also publicly responded to the mural’s existence in the Whistler Room by stating that discussions will continue to discuss how to best address the mural and that the public will be kept informed during the coming months.
