The lord mayor of Bristol has had a portrait of the slave trader Edward Colston removed from her office after deciding she could not share her working space with the image.



Dating back to 1702, the painting has belonged to the city council for decades and has hung in the office of the lord mayor since at least 1953.

But Cllr Cleo Lake ordered that it be removed and wants it to be placed in a museum that tells the story of Bristol’s role in the slave trade.

Lake, who is coming to the end of her first month in office, said her parlour was a “lovely space”, adding: “I spend a lot of time here, I’m here nearly every day. It made me feel uncomfortable sharing the parlour with the portrait.”

Lake is a member of the Countering Colston campaign group, which challenges what it sees as a celebration in Bristol of the slave trader’s life, be that in images or names of buildings, institutions, streets and events.

She said: “I love art, and the portrait as a piece of art does not resonate. I’d rather something modern and vibrant – a [Jean-Michel] Basquiat or a Banksy, if anyone is offering. Or work by other Bristol artists, Bristol landscapes or other portraits of people of note who are less controversial.

“Many of the issues today such as Afriphobia, racism and inequality stem from this episode of history where people of African descent were dehumanised to justify enslaving them. We are partway through the UN Decade for People of African Descent, so change must also be ushered in and this is in line with that.”

She continued: “People have wondered why the portrait wasn’t already removed from the parlour. I first noticed it when I was invited in to meet the Jamaican high commissioner a couple of years back. Having it on the parlour wall in my view sent mixed messages about the city council’s values today, which are not the same as what they might have been centuries ago in Colston’s time.”

Lake, a Green councillor, said the picture would go into storage and she hoped it may be displayed in a museum on the slave trade and its abolition. She said it ought not be hidden away but shown “in context rather than featured pride of place in the lord mayor’s parlour, which could be interpreted as celebratory”.

Explaining her own heritage, Lake said: “I was born in Bristol. I am first-generation Bristolian. My father was a proud African man born in Jamaica and my mother is of Scottish heritage, so I am Campbell by clan on my mother’s side.”



She insisted she did not want Colston to be airbrushed out of history. “Not at all. More needs to be known and understood,” she said.



The Colston portrait has been replaced for now with a painting of a lion. Lake said she bought it at a Help Bristol’s Homeless auction.

“It’s by a Bristol-based artist,” she said. “It’s something that’s a bit different, modern, with a nice bit of nature – a nice bit of heraldry. I wanted something more vibrant.”

Last year civil rights campaigners, music lovers and artists welcomed a decision by Bristol’s largest concert hall, Colston Hall, to ditch the slave trader’s name after years of protests and boycotts.

Bristol Cathedral entered the debate when its dean said it was prepared to remove its biggest stained-glass window because of its close association with Colston.

However, such moves are not universally popular, with many believing they are designed to eradicate Colston’s name from the city’s history.

Conservative councillor Richard Eddy said Lake’s move was an “outrageous stunt” and “naive”. He said: “The occupier of this distinguished position should know better than to pander to politically-correct partisan opinion.

“Edward Colston was a great Bristolian in the eyes of many of us and, sadly, Cllr Lake has clearly decided to abandon the impartial role of the lord mayor less than a month into her reign.”