Employees protest Kunstmuseum Winterthur removes photo of a naked girl

A photo of a naked girl has been removed from the Winterthur Art Museum. Employees had protested against this and described it as child pornography.

A photograph by Richard Prince from 1983 was removed from the Kunstmuseum Winterthur before the opening. This was after employees described it as child pornography, as the "NZZ am Sonntag" writes.

The photo shows Brooke Shields, a 10-year-old American actress. She is standing naked in a bathtub, wearing make-up and her hairstyle is reminiscent of a 1970s disco queen.

The original photo was taken by photographer Garry Gross in 1975 for Playboy magazine. Richard Prince then took his own photo of it eight years later and placed it in a gold-plated picture frame. He then called the work "Spiritual America".

The "NZZ am Sonntag" writes that the work draws attention to the "moral mendacity of a conservative America during the presidential years of Ronald Reagan".

In Winterthur, the photo was to be shown in the current exhibition of so-called readymades. These are pre-existing objects that have been turned into works of art.

The work has often been the subject of controversy

"Spiritual America" has often been the subject of controversy. In 2009, it was removed from the Tate Modern in London following protests. In 2014, Prince photographed his work again with his iPhone and posted the photo on Instagram. His account was then blocked, as the magazine "Vulture" reported.

Brooke Shields never protested against the photo and later had herself photographed as a 40-year-old in a similar pose by Richard Prince - in a tight bikini in front of a heavy motorcycle.