Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, hosts an exhibition of paintings by the Spanish artist of the last century, Pablo Picasso. However, one of the works of the great master on display at the National Gallery became the focus of public and press attention not so much in the exhibition display as in the arrivals hall of Edinburgh International Airport.
A poster with one of the paintings of the exhibition entitled "Nude Woman in a Red Chair" was placed in the airport hall. It depicts seventeen-year-old Frenchwoman Marie-Thérèse Walther in a manner characteristic of the classic of Cubism. However, it was not so much the peculiarities of the master's style that aroused increased attention of air passengers, as the nakedness of the girl. Some of them expressed their dissatisfaction with the airport administration, and it was decided to remove the poster so as not to embarrass especially sensitive arrivals.
However, when the advertising manager turned to the organizers of the exhibition with a request to replace the poster with an image of some other painting by Picasso, art critics were already outraged. John Leighton, one of the directors of the Scottish National Gallery, told the press that the demand to remove the work of art on display around the world looks strange. Especially when there are advertisements at every step with the image of dressed or undressed female bodies in varying degrees. He invited the indignant air passengers to the exhibition, where they can see real art in the master's paintings depicting one of Picasso's favorite models. The artist painted Marie-Thérèse several dozen times, and, according to one of the legends, met her in a crowd at a metro station in Paris.
After talking with the organizers of the exhibition, the airport administration revised the previous decision to remove the poster that caused problems. The press relations manager apologized to the Scottish National Gallery, and at the same time expressed his respect for the air passengers, whose opinions should always be treated with special attention. In addition, he said that the Edinburgh air terminal is just happy to show this picture and the poster has taken its original place.
