Art is subjective, but all kinds of art demonstrate beauty differently. Still, one of the most essential concepts in creating art is expression. Art transcends many areas of people’s lives; it is revolutionary, political, and a call of the soul. However, art can be crude, and not everyone will receive it well, especially when it is about oneself. For example, this case on Reddit, where a woman in Alabama is outraged after agreeing to be “the inspiration” for paintings for an art exposition in which she appears nude.
Redditor ThrowRA3738272 came to r/legaladvice seeking advice on how to stop her FIL from submitting paintings. The important thing is that this man asked his daughter-in-law to inspire his paintings about “the goddess of beauty.” OP flattered, accepted, saying she was only the inspiration; she didn’t model. Yet, the surprise came the day of this art exposition in Alabama, because FIL’s paintings portrayed her nude. And not only that, as the woman in the paintings was in explicit situations and with very intimate physical features of her. Apparently, the FIL consulted with his son, the OP’s husband, for personal details about her body.
So OP, feeling very embarrassed, asked FIL to remove the paintings, destroy them, or modify them. FIL said they would check with the staff to see if he could modify his art, but for the moment, he can’t do anything. Also, OP talked to the art show committee, but they can’t help her either. Besides, the husband is on the side of his father, FIL.
Your husband not only not being creeped out that his father is drawing nudes of his spouse, but actively facilitating his father’s creative pursuits in this by providing intimate and very private details about your body, without talking to you about his involvement, is possibly the most horrifying thing in all of this. I’d strongly recommend that you go and talk to a relationship-centric personal therapist about that aspect and talk about how to handle that situation. If I were in your shoes, that would be a no-questions-asked dealbreaker, and I’d also be talking to a divorce attorney, but that’s a call only you can make.
derspiny
While I don’t think you have any legal avenue to stop him from exhibiting his works, you should talk to the organizers of the art show in question. Odds are they haven’t a clue how your father-in-law came by his inspiration, and there’s a decent chance that they will opt not to proceed once they are looped in. There’s also no downside to at least consulting with a litigation attorney (your state bar runs a referral service) for a more in-depth opinion.
It seems that most of the users agreed that the OP should contact a lawyer to resolve the issue with the paintings with FIL. But she also needs another lawyer for a divorce, as the husband defends his father’s painting of his wife so explicitly, and he gave very personal details about her.
