A Texas grand jury declined to take any action in the investigation surrounding Lexington- based photographer Sally Mann’s work, clearing the way for the return of several seized photographs to the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
The images — part of Mann’s controversial “Immediate Family” series from the early 1990s — had been removed by Fort Worth police in January following complaints from local officials, including Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare, who alleged the photographs could constitute child pornography. The museum had included several of Mann’s portraits, which depict her children nude, in its “Diaries of Home” exhibition.
On Tuesday, the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office issued a statement confirming the grand jury’s decision to take “no action” against the museum or its staff. The Fort Worth Police Department has said the photographs will be returned to the museum.
The seizure drew national attention, with free speech and civil liberties groups calling the investigation unfounded. In a February letter to Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, the ACLU of Texas, and the National Coalition Against Censorship argued the images were protected artistic expression under the First Amendment and criticized the seizure as a form of unconstitutional censorship.
“Grand juries exist to prevent baseless and malicious prosecutions — and this one did just that,” said Aaron Terr of FIRE, calling the investigation “a sham from the start.”
Mann, a longtime Rockbridge County resident and internationally acclaimed photographer, has not commented publicly on the incident.
