Nude Photo Of 10 Year-Old Brooke Shields, Withdrawn From Exhibit

So "challenging" was the exhibit of Tate Modern gallery in London because it included the nude photo of 10 year-old Brooke Shields, standing on a bathtub with face full of make-up and an oiled torso. The photo was withdrawn from exhibition amidst concerns on child pornography laws.


As documented by Telegraph UK, officers from the Metropolitan Police attended the gallery and discovered the nude photo of the young Brooke Shields, kept in a room behind closed door with a label on the door that says "challenging." The word served as warning for visitors who would find the image offensive. Aside from stirring controversy, the photo also raised concerns on whether it breaches the Obscene Publications Act.

The nude photo of Brooke Shields in all her seemingly corrupted childhood innocence was a photograph of a photograph. It was pictured by New York artist Richard Prince from the original photograph taken by Gary Gross (yes, Gross) in 1975. It was Brooke Shields' mother who commissioned the photograph in an attempt to turn her daughter from a little girl to a promising child star. After signing away the rights to the image, the naked photo of the little girl later landed on Playboy Press publication. The photographer had also planned to turn the image into a poster.

In 1981, a grown-up Brooke Shields attempted to buy the negatives of the photo back, but failed. The judge who ruled the case said that the actress was a "hapless victim of a contract... to which two grasping adults bound her."

It was the court drama behind the young Brooke Shield's nude photo that caught the interest of Richard Prince. He called his artwork "Spiritual America." It was his commentary on Brook Shields as an "abstract entity."

However, child advocates condemned the inclusion of the photo in the Tate Modern exhibit called "Pop Life: Art In A Material World." In the words of the advocates' founder:

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

"If you are using a picture of a naked child to bring people to your exhibition, then you are exploiting that child. It's as if they are using a 10-year-old girl for bait. I find it disturbing and they should be ashamed of themselves. And putting the picture in a room with a warning outside really is a magnet for pedophiles."

Despite consultation with lawyers to display the nude photo of 10 year-old Brooke Shields, Tate Modern was forced to temporarily close the exhibit. Staffs of the gallery were in discussion with the Metropolitan Police Officers from the Obscene Publications Unit, ensuring that the gallery management do not inadvertently break the law or cause any offense to their visitors."