Texas police officers traveled to New York museums in February as part of a failed child pornography investigation against photographer Sally Mann and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. The investigation stemmed from Mann's photographs of her nude underage children, displayed in the exhibition "Diaries of Home," which some local viewers and officials deemed harmful. The officers visited the Guggenheim, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, and Whitney Museum, spending nearly $7,000 on the trip. A grand jury declined to take action in March, and the photos were returned. Museums reported no recent communication with the police and stated Mann's works had not been on view for years.
The case matters because it highlights a troubling misuse of law enforcement resources and raises serious questions about censorship and the criminalization of art. The investigation, described by a free-speech advocate as a "sham," targeted acclaimed artwork that lacks sexual content, underscoring ongoing tensions between artistic expression and child protection laws. The expensive, seemingly fruitless trip also draws attention to the potential for government overreach and the need for clearer legal standards around art and obscenity.