Tate axes naked Brooke Shields picture after police porn probe

Naked picture of Brooke Shields, when she was 10, has been withdrawn from a Tate exhibition
12 April 2012

A provocative nude picture of a 10-year-old Brooke Shields has been removed from display at Tate Modern art gallery following a police visit.

A spokeswoman for the gallery said the room containing the picture of the American actress had been temporarily closed while staff worked with officers from the Obscene Publications Unit.

The rest of the show, entitled Pop Life: Art In A Material World show, will remain open.

The work, called Spiritual America, by New York artist Richard Prince, was to go on display today.

It is a photograph of a photograph taken in 1975, which shows Shields standing in a bath with a heavily made up face and oil on her torso.

It hung in its own room apart from the rest of the exhibition with a warning notice outside saying the content was "challenging."

Children's campaigners had condemned the Tate's decision to show the photograph, saying it was a "magnet" for paedophiles.

A police spokesman said: "Officers from the obscene publications unit met staff at the Tate Modern regarding an image.

"The officers have specialist experience in this field and are keen to work with gallery management to ensure that they do not inadvertently break the law or cause any offence to their visitors."

The original photograph was taken by US photographer Garry Gross, and was commissioned by Shields's mother.

Shields, 44, tried unsuccessfully to buy the negatives in 1981.

Michele Elliot, of the charity Kidscape, said using a photograph of a naked child to attract people to an exhibition was "exploitative."

She said: "Brooke Shields was 10 years old when this picture was taken. She could not have given informed consent to it being taken. It must be bordering on child pornography. It is certainly not art."

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