SAN MATEO, Calif.—The city of San Mateo has agreed to allow the nude cartoonish works of artist Ruth Santee to remain on display outside of a downtown restaurant thanks to the intervention of the ACLU, the San Mateo County Times reports.

City officials had been accused by the artist and curator Sinem Banna of censorship, after asking the pair to remove the controversial works, and upon refusal, deciding to cut the entire exhibition short and remove it in July. Santee contacted the ACLU, and staff attorney Julia Harumi Mass stepped in to contact Shawn Mason, San Mateo's city attorney.

"We shared our concerns that it appeared the work was being taken down due to objections to the content of the art," Mass said. "In public spaces that cities and counties designate to be used for displaying art, content discrimination isn't permitted under the First Amendment."

The city has now agreed to leave Santee's work in place until September 26. After that, Mason and the ACLU agreed that the city could decide to use the space as it pleases, despite original promises to Banna that she could curate exhibitions there indefinitely.