Bust of Haile Selassie
{{short description|Bust in Wimbledon, London}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox artwork
| title = Bust of Haile Selassie
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| image = Cannizaro Park, Wimbledon, The statue of Emperor Haile Selassie.jpg
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| artist = Hilda Seligman
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| completion_date = 1957
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| city = Wimbledon, London
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A bust of the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie formerly stood in Cannizaro Park in Wimbledon Common, London. A work of the sculptor Hilda Seligman, it was destroyed in June 2020.
History
During the 1930s, Ethiopia came into conflict with the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who sought to avenge his country for its losses during the First Italo-Ethiopian War. In 1935 Italy invaded Ethiopia, starting the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. As a result of the invasion, Haile Selassie was exiled to the United Kingdom.{{Cite web|title=Haile Selassie I|url=https://www.biography.com/political-figure/haile-selassie-i|access-date=2020-07-17|website=Biography|language=en-us}}
In 1936, while in exile, Selassie spent time at Seligman's family home. He returned to Ethiopia in 1941, and when Seligman's home was demolished in 1957, she installed the bust in Cannizaro Park.{{Cite book|last=Matthews|first=Peter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zl5RDwAAQBAJ&dq=haile+selassie+statue+wimbledon&pg=PA232|title=London's Statues and Monuments: Revised Edition|date=2018-02-22|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-78442-258-5|language=en}}
The bust was a popular attraction and pilgrimage site for followers of the Rastafarian movement.
= Destruction =
The bust was destroyed by a group of around 100 protestors on 30 June 2020, in what was believed to have been a reaction to the killing of the Ethiopian protest singer Hachalu Hundessa in Addis Ababa the previous day.{{Cite news|date=2020-07-02|title=Haile Selassie statue destroyed in London park|language=en-GB|publisher=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-53259409|access-date=2020-07-17}}{{Cite web|date=2020-07-02|title=Statue of former Ethiopian leader Haile Selassie destroyed|url=https://www.voice-online.co.uk/news/uk-news/2020/07/02/statue-ethiopia-haile-selassie-destroyed-wimbledon-londo/|access-date=2020-07-17|website=Voice Online|language=en}}{{Cite news|title=London police probe destruction of Haile Selassie statue|url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/london-police-probe-destruction-of-haile-selassie-statue.802248|date=2020-07-02|access-date=2020-07-17|work=Times of Malta|agency=Agence France-Presse|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114022155/https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/london-police-probe-destruction-of-haile-selassie-statue.802248|archive-date=14 November 2022|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Magazine|first=Tadias|title=UPDATE: Ethiopia to Restore Toppled UK Bust of Emperor Haile Selassie at Tadias Magazine|url=http://www.tadias.com/07/12/2020/update-ethiopia-to-restore-toppled-uk-bust-of-emperor-haile-selassie/|access-date=2020-08-09}}
See also
References
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{{Public art in London|portrait sculpture}}
{{Portal bar|London|Visual arts}}
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Category:Cultural depictions of Haile Selassie
Category:Outdoor sculptures in London
Category:1957 establishments in England
Category:2020 disestablishments in England