Local art lovers rushed to donate money this week to a high school artist who was chosen as a winner in The Virginian-Pilot Student Gallery but was not given the award because the newspaper’s publisher deemed her work inappropriate.

By late Friday, $700 had been collected. The goal was to raise $1,000.

That’s the sum Nancy “Beth” Reid, a 17-year-old senior at Churchland High School in Portsmouth, would have won for her nude self-portrait, which art experts described as discreet.

Beth said she was flattered that people were trying to replace the cash prize. “I was not expecting it. That’s really nice of them. But I feel bad that they’re doing that. It shouldn’t be their responsibility to make up for this huge scandal going on.”

Beth said she loves art history and appreciates the nudes she has seen in classical art. “It’s not perverted at all. Now, it’s almost like if you see a naked person it’s pornographic, and that’s not true.”

Student Gallery is a 36-year-old art contest open to any high school junior or senior in the region. This year, the show was judged three times.

The top winners chosen by the first two jurors were rejected because their work depicted nudity. Bruce Bradley, publisher of The Virginian-Pilot, on Friday took responsibility for the decision.

“While it’s true we don’t specifically address this in the rules and regulations, the concern I had was to have a 17-year-old girl do a self-portrait of herself in the nude,” Bradley said. “I thought that was inappropriate for the contest.

“This is why we did not name it the first-place winner.”

Bradley told the newspaper’s editor not to publish a photograph of that work, for the same reasons. “I feel it’s an inappropriate picture to run in The Virginian-Pilot.”

Even though the newspaper has received numerous letters from outraged art supporters, he said he has not changed his mind. “I believe we made the right decision.”

Artwork by the 62 finalists, including the two pieces in question, is on display through April 18 at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk. The first judge was Aaron De Groft, director of the Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. De Groft selected Beth’s self-portrait. A second judge, Scott Howe, education director at the Chrysler Museum, selected a ceramic sculpture of a pregnant, nude torso. The work, by Jasmine Childs, a senior at Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake, also was rejected.

Both girls have been accepted to Virginia Commonwealth University for the fall, and both plan to study art. Two Pilot employees, one from the marketing department and one from advertising, picked a final winner and announced the decision Tuesday.

“It’s the most bizarre thing,” said Ann Dearsley-Vernon of Norfolk, “especially when you see the nude, which is the sweetest, least-revealing nude. There’s nothing showing.”

Dearsley-Vernon is a former education director at the Chrysler Museum who has been a paid consultant and a judge for Student Gallery.

She and Shelley Brooks, who coordinates exhibitions and arts programming for Tidewater Community College’s Visual Arts Center, are spearheading the fund drive.

“We’re going to try to make some public recompense to this young lady,” Dearsley-Vernon said.

Trish Pfeifer, an elementary school art teacher for Norfolk Public Schools, said she was “just stunned” by The Pilot’s decision. She and her husband, Ken Pfeifer, contributed Thursday toward Beth’s gift. The couple has funded a yearly $250 Student Gallery prize, called the Visual Wit Award, for the past decade.

“I could not believe it,” Trish Pfeifer said. “I thought it was so unethical of The Pilot to take away this award from this child. It brings up issues of censorship and freedom of speech. It was so unethical to hire a judge and not honor that judge’s decision.

“The thing I was so amazed at was the fact that they still included the work but took away the award. If it was so offensive for people to see, why did it stay in the show?”

Beth had the same question.

“I think it seems ludicrous,” she said. “And, of course, there’s naked men on the front porch,” referring to a monumental statue of torch bearers at the museum’s main entrance.

Beth said her self-portrait was inspired by books such as Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness.” She wanted to reflect the idea that humans have a darker, animal side as well as a social facade.

Because the dark side is bestial, she said she felt she should portray herself in the nude. In the rendering, she is crouching, with most of her private parts hidden, except for a small portion of her backside. “I’m comparing that inner darkness to what an animal feels. They don’t have religion or philosophy or art, or anything that separates humans from animals, from running around in packs naked.”

Beth admitted her father was uncomfortable at first with her creating a nude but became supportive as he understood her ideas. Beth’s mother, Nancy Reid, was out of town but e-mailed that she felt her daughter earned the award, “and it could have contributed to her ability to receive further scholarships.”

One of Beth’s art teachers, Jean Stith, said her reaction to the rejection of Beth’s work was to meet with all of the art students. “We talked about community, judging, censorship and whose rights have been infringed on.

“When Beth told me what happened, I just put my arms around her and congratulated her. I said, 'With or without the prize, you know you won the show.’ ”

De Groft said Beth’s work was “head and shoulders above most of the things in the exhibition.” He said he was impressed with the quality of her rendering and the sophistication of her ideas.

Jasmine Childs, who is 17, did not return phone calls Friday. Her mother, Karen Childs, said that after Jasmine discovered she was one of the denied winners, the two sat down for a talk.

“I said, 'Jasmine, what inspired you to do this piece?’ And she said, 'Mother, I’ve always been fascinated with the connection between a mother and a child, and when it actually began.’ ”

“I was so teary,” Karen Childs said. “I didn’t want her to go away with a negative tone. Things like this can affect you into adulthood. I wanted to keep it all positive, by just talking with her about some of her other accomplishments. And we prayed about it.”

Howe saw Jasmine’s ceramic torso as “a beautiful female form. It’s full of great curves and lines. It’s technically a great feat, the way it’s made of slab. It would have been difficult and taken a lot of time,” said Howe, who also works in clay.

“It’s very sad,” Howe said. The newspaper has “done a disservice rather than a service to the community.”

Teresa Annas, (757) 446-2485, teresa.annas@pilotonline.com [1]