CAPE TOWN, South Africa, July 6 (UPI) -- A once banned painting called "The Black Christ," discovered in a London basement, is now hanging in a South African gallery.
The controversial art created in 1961 to speak out against apartheid is being displayed in the National Gallery in Cape Town as the centerpiece of an exhibit on democracy, BBC reported Tuesday.
When Ronnie Harrison painted "The Black Christ" depicting Chief Albert Luthuli, former African National Congress leader, being crucified by former Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd and former Justice Minister John Vorster, the South African government immediately labeled it blasphemous and tried to have it destroyed.
Anti-apartheid activists transferred the painting in 1962 to St. Paul's Cathedral in London, but Harrison was tortured when government officials realized it had left the country.
"The Black Christ" disappeared for 30 years, until Julius Baker, a South African ex-communist in exile in London, saw an newspaper article about the painting and realized it was the same one gathering dust in his basement.
The painting was returned in 1997 to South Africa.
