NEW YORK—China has decided not to lend New York's Asia Society almost 100 objects from Chinese museums for an upcoming exhibition, the New York Times reports. Though the Chinese ministry of culture had originally agreed to allow the society to borrow works for the show — a look at revolutionary Chinese art from the 1950s through the '70s — the approach of the Olympics seems to have caused the government to fully cancel the loan.

"Initially, they said, 'Any loans you want; no problem,'" said Vishakha N. Desai, the president of the Asia Society. "The closer it got to the Olympics, they changed their policy."

She added: "It has more to do with China's desire and aspiration to be seen in a new light. This is a time for celebration. They don't want to be reminded of a difficult past."

The show is being billed as one of the first comprehensive looks at the effects of the Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution on art and artists in China. Asia Society has said it will go ahead with the show, scheduled to open September 5, and is seeking loans from private collectors.

The ministry's decision to withdraw the loan first came in January, but according to the society's museum director, Melissa Chiu, the organization persisted in asking the government to reconsider. "We were working to get at least some of them," she said. According to Chiu, she asked China's consulate general in New York for help, where officials said they would see what they could do, but she should think about postponing the show until after the Olympics.

Zhong Laizhao, China's cultural consul, said in an interview that he had not suggested the delay of the show; rather, he told Chiu he couldn't help her, he said.

The exhibition will run through January 11 and encompass a wide variety of art and everyday objects influenced by the Revolution. Many have never been seen in the U.S. Chiu organized the show with Zheng Shengtian, a Chinese artist and teacher who was imprisoned at a detention center for being critical of the Red Guards.

"Even though this is a period many would prefer to forget, it is nevertheless one that produced a visual culture that continues to permeate contemporary Chinese art," Zheng said.