Artist David Hockney has described a plan to move the Bayeux Tapestry from France to the UK later this year as “madness”, describing it as too much of a risk.
The 70m-long embroidery, more than 900 years old, is due to go on display at the British Museum in London in September.
But Hockney, writing in the Independent, said the “beautiful as well as historically important” masterpiece could be damaged in transit and “will be put in jeopardy if it is moved to London”.
In response, British Museum director Nicholas Cullinan said: “While we understand these concerns, the museum has a world-leading conservation and collections team who are experts at handling and caring for this type of material.”
The tapestry is being loaned to the British Museum until July 2027 in an agreement between the French and British governments while its current home, the Bayeux Museum in Normandy, is renovated.
Some French art experts have also expressed concerns about the plan, saying the tapestry is too delicate to be transported. French officials have said that’s not the case.
Hockney, who now lives in Normandy, said he first visited the tapestry in 1967 and has seen it more than 20 times in the last three years alone, describing it as “something that has defined my life for more than eight decades”.
“Some things are too precious to take a risk with,” the 88-year-old wrote. “Moving the Bayeux Tapestry is one of them.
“It is nearly a thousand years old, the most complete narrative work of art in Europe and remember it is very long, more than 70 metres in length.
“It is fragile, which makes it madness to think of moving it. It is too big a risk.”
The artwork, which shows events leading up to and including the Battle of Hastings in 1066, is being insured for £800m by the Treasury.
But Hockney said that figure was “meaningless”, insisting: “It is priceless.”
He said transporting it for the exhibition involves “significant risk”.
“The linen backing is weakened by age, and the wool embroidery threads are vulnerable to stress,” he said, adding that he had researched the process.
“Rolling, unrolling or handling it in a new way can cause damage.”
He noted it had been kept safe “for centuries” in Bayeux, where it is kept in “tightly-controlled conditions”.
The artwork has already been taken off display and moved into storage in preparation for its journey to London.
Hockney claimed the move was being carried out for “the vanity of a museum which wants to boast of the number of visitors”.
The British Museum said it was working closely with conservators and specialists in France before transporting the tapestry.
Cullinan said they “send and receive thousands of loans each year – including ancient frescoes and textiles which are older than the Bayeux tapestry”.
He added that their condition and safety was “always of paramount importance”.
The tapestry tells the story of the Norman conquest of England in 1066 and is widely believed to have been created in Kent.
It is made up of 58 scenes, 626 characters and 202 horses, and depicts William the Conqueror taking the English throne from Harold Godwinson, becoming the first Norman king of England.
In exchange, British treasures including artefacts from Anglo-Saxon burial mounds at Sutton Hoo and 12th Century Lewis chess pieces are being loaned to museums in Normandy.
