The Manchester Art Gallery has taken down a famous painting that features naked nymphs tempting a man to his downfall to “prompt conversations” about female nudity in art.
The painting, “Hylas and the Nymphs” by John William Waterhouse, one of the best known pre-Raphaelites, was taken down on Friday. Postcards of the masterpiece will no longer be available in the museum’s gift shop.
Members of the community are invited to give their reaction by placing Post-it notes around the notice of removal where the painting formerly hung.
Clare Gannaway, the gallery’s curator of contemporary art, said the “Me too” and “Time’s up” movements contributed to the decision to remove the painting.
“For me personally, there is a sense of embarrassment that we haven’t dealt with it sooner,” Ms. Gannaway told The Guardian. “Our attention has been elsewhere. … We’ve collectively forgotten to look at this space and think about it properly. We want to do something about it now because we have forgotten about it for so long.”
She said the removal is not meant to censor, but to inspire debate.
Reaction in the art community has so far been mixed. Michael Browne, a painter who attended the event at which the work was removed, said he’s worried the past is being erased.
“I don’t like the replacement and removal of art and being told ’that’s wrong and this is right,’ ” Mr. Browne told The Guardian. “They are using their power to veto art in a public collection. We don’t know how long the painting will be off the wall — it could be days, weeks, months. Unless there are protests, it might never come back.”
He said other works of art might be subject to similar scrutiny.
“I know there are other works in the basement that are probably going to be deemed offensive for the same reasons, and they are not going to see the light of day,” Mr. Browne said.
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