Rejecting arts sponsorship deemed unpalatable suggests a naïve, defensive sentiment that culture should be expunged of the compromises of the outside world – but arms are still made, oil is still pumped, and profits still accrue, writes JJ Charlesworth.
The ethics of the private patronage of arts institutions has never been straightforward issue. But as the preoccupation with transparency and corporate responsibility has grown, wealthy benefactors can nowadays turn from pillars of respectable society to moral pariahs in the blink of an eye. Such is the fate of the fabulously rich Sackler family, major philanthropists with fingers in arts institutions across the UK, in the face of mounting criticism over its close links... Keep reading on The Spectator