The 250 women invited to a fund-raiser for Hillary Clinton at the home of D.C. lobbyists Tony and Heather Podesta earlier this month were surprised to see that a prominent piece from couple's art collection — Soliloquy VII, an eight-foot photo by the artist Sam Taylor Wood of a nude man lying on his back — had been taken down. Was it because the hosts were afraid that the combined sweat from several hundred menopausal society ladies would cause the photograph to melt? Or because they feared that after a few glasses of sherry the women might become hysterical and claw at the models' glossy skin with their bare hands until it was naught but a pile of shiny ribbons?

Was it censorship ? That was the rumor being bandied about, according to the Washington Post's "Reliable Source," which noted that at an earlier Clinton fund-raiser, "the official photographer spent the night with his back to the art to prevent [Clinton] from appearing in a shot with the naked guy." But gossips, hold thy tongues! The Podestas said the photo was merely out of rotation to prevent fading and that it will return next year. Said Tony Podesta to the Post: "We are resting it for the presidential campaign but bringing it out for the inaugural ball." Heh. He said ball.

Reliable Source [WP]
Related: Soliloquy VII