Art Blog

Of the sassy pair of female legs in retro stockings stepping out into Sag Harbor's historic district, one can say this:

The legs are 16 feet tall, are made of fiberglass and stand on the side of a home that used to be the Bethel Baptist Church. They were constructed by the artist Larry Rivers, who still manages to delight and offend from the grave.

Some people love them as the irreverent embodiment of the rare Hamptons village with a sense of humor and values that transcend dollar signs. Some people hate them as the embodiment of too-cool Manhattanites and art snobs who should have more respect for Sag Harbor's fishing village past.

And after more than two years of pondering weighty issues of art, taste and land-use law, the village has ordered that they be taken down by Sunday in a classic East End kerfuffle revolving around art, zoning law and the still-charged reputation of the artist buried a few miles away.

"People love the legs," said Janet Lehr, who along with the art dealer Ruth Vered owns the legs and the house they share at the corner of Madison and Henry Streets. "They've become a local landmark. People say, ‘If you want to get to 114, make a left at the legs.' "

As for the village she said: "I think it's too much for them to cope with. It's monumental art, something beyond their experience. Sag Harbor always considers itself the intellectual village. They're letting their people down."

for the rest of this article please go to NYTimes.com