Johannesburg – The boycott of the City Press newspaper has been called off and the Goodman Gallery has agreed to remove the paining The Spear from its website, ANC secretary generalGwede Mantashe said on Tuesday.

“The Goodman Gallery has agreed to remove the painting from the website,” he told protesters outside the gallery in Johannesburg.

“You can also buy the City Press now, just not last week’s copy.”

The ANC and its alliance partners called a boycott of the City Press newspaper last week when it refused to remove a picture of the Brett Murraypainting The Spear from its website.

The newspaper first broke the story when it reviewed Murray’s exhibition Hail to the Thief II. The painting depicts President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed.

Its editor-in-chief Ferial Haffajee decided on Monday to remove the image.

“The Spear is down, out of care and fear,” she said in an editorial.