DeclineIntoCensorship

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That's because Mann, whose work is held at major art institutions around the world, is reeling after police seized four of her most celebrated — and reviled — photographs off the walls of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in Texas in January. "Awful" and "shocking," she recalled.

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The black-and-white images are part of Mann's Immediate Family series, which became a flashpoint during the 1990s culture wars. Still, not once were her prints taken off the walls of a public site, until this year's seizure.

The Danbury Institute, a conservative Christian advocacy group, accused the museum of displaying "child pornography" in a December 2024 open letter. Backed by some local elected officials, they demanded the photographs be removed. "Children cannot consent to such photography, and displaying these images publicly only perpetuates their exploitation," the group said. "Such actions degrade the values of our community, endanger the innocence of childhood and contribute to a dangerous cultural shift."

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The incident has no recent precedent in the United States, though there are parallels. Amy Werbel, a professor of art history at the Fashion Institute of Technology, said that the events surrounding the removal of Mann's photographs echo a period between 1873 and 1915 when "police empowered by anti-obscenity statutes" removed artwork from galleries and public spaces. Werbel said case law that emerged from that time made it more difficult to prosecute curators.

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The Trump administration has said it intends to audit exhibitions and holdings at eight Smithsonian Institution museums to determine whether they align with the "President's directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions." In a post on social media, Trump called out "Museums throughout Washington" and those "all over the Country" as being "the last remaining segment of 'WOKE.'" And a White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told NPR that Trump "will start with the Smithsonian and then go from there."

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