Alma Thomas Watusi (Hard Edge) 1963 acrylic on canvas 47.5" x 44.25"

I thought it was a joke, but the story seems to be true. The Painting by Alma Thomas, one of the 45 artworks the Obamas chose to borrow from national museums to hang mostly in the private quarters of the White House, has quietly disappeared from the list.

[By late October, "Watusi (Hard Edge)"], which had been the only painting listed for the East Wing - and reportedly destined for Michelle Obama's office - was no longer on the list. The Hirshhorn confirmed that it had been sent back, but no one involved with the White House loans would say why.

Right-wing bloggers had gone super crazy over the choice of Thomas' work and it now appears they've been able to both assault the personal aesthetic taste of the President and his family and exercise a cultural veto with national ramifications.

Greg.org has much more on both Thomas and the crazies whom her quiet work incites in this blog post published before Thomas went missing.

ADDENDUM: Richard Lacayo has still more, in this TIME/CNN on-line piece, datelined November 5th.

[image from the Hirshhorn]