A Church of England court has ruled that Benjamin West’s altarpiece, Devout Men Taking Away the Body of St Stephen, 1776, which was made for one of the most important churches in the City of London can be sold for display in the US.
Devout Men Taking Away the Body of St Stephen was commissioned and donated to St Stephen Walbrook by priest Thomas Wilson in 1776. It was subsequently removed from the church in 1987 and put in storage.
In his ruling Judge Nigel Seed, chancellor of the consistory court of the Diocese of London, said that the church should be allowed to sell the piece but was highly critical of both the priest who installed and the one who removed the painting.
He added ‘This case, if nothing else, is an object lesson of the consequences of incumbents behaving as though the church building is a sort of personal doll’s house for them to play with, without reference to the parishioners.’
The Churches Building Council was opposed to the sale and says that it is ‘deeply disappointing’. The Council is now considering an appeal the outcome of which will be of concern to heritage and church bodies as the case has serious implications for the future of church furnishings
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