As Greek efforts to reclaim the Parthenon Marbles receive a boost from Amal Clooney, Laura Cumming considers other artworks caught up in legal and artistic wranglingHave we missed an artwork from the list? Leave your suggestion in the comments below and it could feature in the alternative list next weekThe Parthenon MarblesThe great frieze of figures removed from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century remains the most perennially disputed of all artworks, the arguments as divided as the sculptures themselves the goddess Iriss head is in Athens, her body in the British Museum; Poseidons torso is split between them. Defenders argue that Elgin bankrupted himself to save the marbles from local destruction, with full Greek authority, and London is their legal home. The opposition (which has included Byron, Christopher Hitchens and of course now the Clooneys) argues that the marbles were literally ripped off the Parthenon, and ruinously scoured, and must be returned to Greece. Continue reading...
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