Famous Cases of Art Censorship

Wassily Kandinsky's abstract paintings were considered to be 'degenerate art' by the Nazis and were banned from being exhibited in Germany.

Gustave Courbet's painting 'The Burial at Ornans' was rejected by the Paris Salon in 1850 because it was considered to be too realistic and vulgar.

Edouard Manet's painting 'The Origin of the World' was considered to be obscene and pornographic when it was exhibited in Paris in 1866. Manet was arrested and imprisoned for obscenity.

Arshile Gorky's work was censored by the United States government during the McCarthy era because it was considered to be too abstract and subversive.

Kazimir Malevich's work was banned from being exhibited in the Soviet Union during the Stalin era because it was considered to be too abstract and formalist.

Andres Serrano's photograph 'Piss Christ' was censored by the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in 1989 because it was considered to be blasphemous and offensive.

Ai Weiwei's work was censored by the Chinese government after the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 because it was considered to be too critical of the government.

Chris Ofili's painting 'The Holy Virgin Mary' was censored by the Brooklyn Museum of Art in 1999 because it was considered to be blasphemous and offensive.

Kara Walker's work was censored by the United States government after the September 11 attacks in 2001 because it was considered to be too provocative and offensive.

Zhang Huan's painting 'Family Tree' was censored by the Chinese government in 2008 because it was considered to be too critical of the government.

Pussy Riot's work was censored by the Russian government in 2017 because it was considered to be too critical of the government.

Dana Schutz's painting 'Open Casket' was censored by the Whitney Museum of American Art in 2017 because it was considered to be too graphic and disturbing.

Nan Goldin's work was censored by the United States government in 2018 because it was considered to be too graphic and disturbing.

Kehinde Wiley's painting 'The Prelude' was censored by the Brooklyn Museum of Art in 2019 because it was considered to be too graphic and disturbing.

Ai Weiwei's work was censored by the Chinese government in 2020 because it was considered to be too critical of the government.