The Blue Nudes

April 1 through April 5, 2000

Wilton Treadway's Blue Nudes,
a series of oil-on-canvas paintings,
were banned from display at Barnes and Noble
in Little Rock, Arkansas, because they threatened
the social standing of a fear-riddled manager,
who ordered their removal despite the protestations
of other Barnes and Noble managers and employees.
When the smoke cleared and the truth was told,
only one customer had complained about the paintings --
a habitual crank who previously had demanded the removal
of "offensive art books" from the Barnes and Noble shelves.

The art books remained on the shelves,
but the paintings, which were hung on a Saturday,
fell to the censor's might five days later.

The Blue Nudes were supposed to hang for a month.
Praise of the artistic merits of the paintings
by other employees and store patrons
could not move the censorious manager
to change her mind.

Images of Treadway's masterworks
will be added to this site
as its development continues.

Page launched: July 19, 2000	Most recent revision: August 2, 2000
Developmental Level: Raw