Controversial Works of Art Trivia Quiz

Answer: Winston Churchill

The Sutherland portrait of Churchill showed him as an old man, and because of this Churchill hated it. After he was presented with it, the painting disappeared from view for many years, and it was later revealed that, after his death, Lady Churchill had in fact destroyed it. Graham Sutherland was viewed as one of Britain's leading artists in the post-war era, and this destruction was seen as an act of vandalism.

Although the portrait itself no longer exists various studies and sketches done for it do survive.

Answer: It was made up of the hand prints of children

Marcus Harvey's portrait of notorious child killer Myra Hindley is made up entirely of the hand prints of children. This caused outrage, especially amongst the families of her victims. The portrait was attacked several times, having eggs thrown at it and ink spattered over it.

In fact it is quite a menacing picture, and critics have argued that the use of the hand prints shows up the enormity of her crimes.

Answer: They are both naked

Called "Down by the Lake with Liz and Phil" this Greg Taylor statue shows the Queen and Prince Philip sitting on a bench, and they are both in the nude.
As soon as the statue was unveiled various groups sought to have it removed or destroyed, or preferably both. Within a week the statue of the Queen had been beheaded, which may or may not be a comment on Australia's view of retaining her as Head of State.

Answer: Pope Benedict XVI

The statue shows the Pope in thigh-high stockings, a blond wig, a stole and panties, and nothing else. The expression on his face is either creepy or flirtatious depending on your point of view. The piece was removed from a Milan exhibition after pressure from various Catholic groups.

Although the statue itself caused a stir, the main debate has centred on whether the church has the right to try and censor art.

Answer: Saddam Hussein

There is nothing new about objects floating in vats of formaldehyde. Damien Hirst did it before David Cerny with a cow and with a tiger shark. The controversy around this piece was the fact that it depicted Saddam Hussein. It was banned in Poland and Belgium due to fears of unrest among their Muslim populations.

At the time there had been trouble in Denmark because of the Mohamed cartoons published there, and other countries were anxious to avoid any similar problems.

Answer: Carl Andre

The work is actually called "Equivalent VIII" and it was created by Carl Andre. It was bought by the Tate in 1972, but when it was on display in 1976 there were many critical newspaper reports, most accusing the gallery of being conned into buying a pile of bricks.

It consists of 120 firebricks arranged in a rectangle and many consider it to be an important minimalist work. Others just see it as a pile of bricks. Beauty, and art, is indeed in the eye of the beholder.

Answer: Renee Cox

The work is a photographic recreation of Da Vinci's "The Last Supper". All the apostles bar one are black men and Christ is the artist herself, in the nude.
When it first appeared at the Brooklyn Museum of Art many religious groups strongly objected to it. Mayor Giulliani set up a commission to review it, in the hopes they would find it offensive and give him reason to ban it. However Mayor Bloomberg took office before the commission had reported, and he promptly abolished it, meaning the work remained in the gallery.

Answer: Cigarette butts

Tom Deininger works with what is to hand. He collects discarded cigarette butts, that are very bad for the environment as they don't break down easily, and recycles them into works of art. He has made cute looking rabbits and a clam shell. His other works include a self portrait made out of various materials that other people throw away.

Answer: Tracey Emin

"My Bed" was shortlisted for the 1999 Turner Prize. The exhibit created a lot of media controversy, mainly because it consisted of Ms. Emin's own unmade bed, complete with stains on the sheets, and various items such as used knickers, condoms and empty cigarette packets lying around it. Fans called it "Confessional Art", others were not so kind.

It did however bring her to the attention of the public, and refocused attention on her earlier work "Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963 - 1995". This was a tent embroidered with names.

It was purchased by Charles Saatchi. It was destroyed in a fire at his warehouse in 2004.

Answer: Annie Leibovitz

In 2007 Annie Leibovitz was commissioned to take official photographs of the Queen. The BBC were making a documentary about this. In one shot they showed the Queen appearing to storm out of the session in a temper after falling out with Ms. Leibovitz.

They were later forced to apologise to the Queen when it emerged they had doctored the footage. The Queen was in fact in not the best of moods on her way to the shoot. This footage was then spliced into the film in a different place to make it appear that she and Ms. Leibovitz had argued. BBC bosses faced further criticism for waiting some 24 hours before issuing the apology.