Picasso Nude Causes a Bit of Controversy

Tags: Censorship, Modern Art, Nudity, Picasso, UK

After several complaints from passengers, Edinburgh Airport agreed to cover up an advertisement for a Pablo Picasso exhibition being shown at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.

However, after further reflection, the airport reversed its decision and decided to keep it on view.

The advertisement features an image of Nude Woman in a Red Armchair, the exhibition’s star piece since it first opened at London’s Tate Britain in February. It depicts a stylized nude portrait of Marie-Thérèse Walter, Picasso’s lover and the mother of his daughter Maya.

A spokesperson for the airport released the following statement:

“We have now reviewed our original decision and reinstated the image. The initial decision was a reaction to passenger feedback, which we do always take seriously. However on reflection we are more than happy to display the image in the terminal and we’d like to apologize, particularly to the exhibition organizers, for the confusion.”

John Leighton, the director-general of the National Galleries of Scotland, expressed a mixture of disbelief and disappointment at the passengers and found it “bizarre” that they would be affected by a work of art when images of semi- and completely-naked women proliferate in the world around us. However, concluded on a positive note:

“I hope that the public will come and see the real thing, which is a joyous and affectionate portrait of one of Picasso’s favorite models, an image that has been shown around the world.”

[via NYTimes Arts Beat]

Photo courtesy of National Galleries of Scotland