Myra Hindley’s Controversial Portrait Protest

In 1997, the Royal Academy of Arts in London displayed “Myra,” a controversial painting by artist Marcus Harvey based on the mugshot of Myra Hindley. Hindley had participated in the Moors murders between 1963 and 1965 alongside Ian Brady, crimes that made the pair among Britain’s most infamous serial killer cases. The painting sparked intense public outrage and protests because it recreated the image using children’s handprints. From prison, Hindley wrote to the gallery asking for the portrait to be removed. She argued that displaying the image showed disregard for the emotional pain suffered by the victims’ families.

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