The Fort Worth Police Department spent almost $7,000 to send five police officers to four New York art institutions to investigate child pornography allegations against artist Sally Mann, whose photographs were on display in a group exhibition at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth earlier this year.
In February, officers took a four-day trip to New York to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and Whitney Museum of American Art—all of which have photographs by Mann in their collection—to gather information on the artist that might be pertinent to their investigation.
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“The fact-finding mission was planned efficiently to allow investigators the ability to divide and conquer a large footprint of museums and see the artwork on display in real time,” police spokesperson Chelsea Kretz told the Fort Worth Report. “The decision to send personnel was based on the importance of our commitment to ensuring a comprehensive investigation.”
Despite these efforts, works by Mann were not on view to the public at the time of their arrival. However, investigators reportedly spoke to curators and museum staff during their trip in an effort to understand how images are selected for exhibitions and displayed.
Trip expenses totaled a whopping $6,988.77—with $2,506.92 for the officers’ accommodations, $1,694.85 for airfare, $47 for parking at DFW Airport, $670 for museum entry fees, and $2,070 per diem.
“We understand the public’s interest in the use of departmental resources. Trip expenses were covered following our policy protocols,” Kretz explained.
The photographs in question were forcibly removed from a group exhibition at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and taken into custody by authorities, who held the works as evidence for alleged child abuse, following complaints by locals and elected officials that characterized Mann’s work as “grossly inappropriate” and “child porn.”
Mann has spurred controversy for years over her photographs of her rural Lexington, Virginia, home, which include nude images of her underage children shot during the 1990s.
The group exhibition “Diaries of Home”, which has since closed, featured the work of 13 women and nonbinary artists who, according to the museum’s website, “explore the multilayered concepts of family, community, and home.” The website included a warning that the show featured “mature themes that may be sensitive for some viewers.”
The investigation drew national condemnation, as three civil liberty organizations stepped in to demand the return of the works in February. Ultimately, the charges against the museum were dropped and the photographs in question were returned to Mann.