WASHINGTON, D.C.—A sculpture in a downtown Washington, D.C., office building was withdrawn from display after tenants complained that the art was inappropriate, the Washington Post reports.

Unmentionables shows 10 styles of women's underwear made out of metal and strung on a clothesline. The pieces range from metal bloomers to a thong, and all were installed in the lobby of the Washington Square building as part of the current group exhibition.

"It had been shown so many times and everybody just said they loved it, so this is quite a shock," said Joyce Zipperer, the artist. "It's funny when you think about it, because clotheslines used to be something you'd see in everybody's yard with all their laundry."

The installation went up on August 3, and shortly thereafter, a group of tenants complained to Cynthia Muller, the building manager, protesting that the work was too personal. Muller asked Zipperer to take the work down and replace it with another piece — one that depicted "anything but underwear."

From February to May, Zipperer exhibited a wire screen corset with pantaloons and a black thong in Washington Square without a problem. And one of the building's tenants, Victoria's Secret, is known for its racy window displays that adjoin the lobby.