Stand By Your Artist (If No One Minds)

By Melissa August, Harriet Barovick, Autumn DeLeon, Tam Gray, Lina Lofaro, James Poniewozik and Michele Orecklin

The Smithsonian canceled Foie Gras: A Gourmet's Passion last week after animal-rights activists--including John Gielgud and Bea Arthur--objected, saying the geese who provided the delicacy were force fed. Is it us, or have museums been easily spooked this year?

--Whitney Museum of American Art canceled the Great American Nude show, which had an installation by performance artist Karen Finley, below. The decision came days after the Supreme Court ruled against Finley, saying federal arts funding could be withheld on decency grounds. The Whitney cited "lack of funding." The show is now at the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art.

--Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, N.C., canceled the Charlotte Film and Video Festival, which featured gay and lesbian films and had long been a target of local conservatives. A spokesman said it was deemed too much trouble for an artistic endeavor it didn't view as "essential."

--Seattle Art Museum decided to exclude Pay for Your Pleasure by Mike Kelley in its 2000 1/2 exhibition. The installation featured, among other things, a work by a prisoner. Protests were sparked by an Internet report that spread to talk radio. "The sensationalism fostered by the press would have colored responses," said the curator.