The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, will return a promised gift of Benin Bronzes and close its dedicated Benin gallery on April 28, 2025. The gallery will be repurposed for Nubian art. The collection, pledged by Robert Owen Lehman, includes objects traceable to the 1897 British looting of the Kingdom of Benin. Lehman has donated five objects outright, which will be displayed in the Art of Africa Gallery. The MFA stated it could not reach a mutually agreeable resolution for the gallery's long-term sustainability.
This decision marks an unprecedented move for a U.S. arts institution and reflects a global shift in museum ethics regarding looted art. The Benin Bronzes have become a litmus test for Western museums' willingness to repatriate contested artifacts. The MFA's action follows similar restitutions by the University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art in 2024, Germany in 2022, and the Netherlands in 2025, signaling growing international consensus that such objects should be returned to Nigeria.