On the eve of his first anniversary in office, Prime Minister Tony Abbott made the most of this auspicious timing during his trip to Delhi by returning the National Gallery of Australia’s ill-gotten Dancing Shiva sculpture.
The 900-year-old bronze, Shiva as Nataraja, Lord of the Dance, was purportedly stolen from a temple in Tamil Nadu before being sold to the National Gallery in 2008, and been the focus of considerable controversy after its provenance was revealed.
Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's Senior Contributor, after 12 years in the role as National Visual Arts Editor. She has worked for extended periods in America and Southeast Asia, as gallerist, arts administrator and regional contributing editor for a number of magazines, including Hong Kong based Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. She is an Art Tour leader for the AGNSW Members, and lectures regularly on the state of the arts. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW.
Instagram: fairleygina
