From Poster Girl to Muse.

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Author: Ting YuWren, JenniferHamm, LizaHannah, JohnMandel, KwalaMeadows, BobNorman, PeteRizzo, MonicaStueven

Mona Lisa may have stirred da Vinci's imagination, but was she ever a Charlie's Angel? Farrah Fawcett was, and now, like Leonardo's muse, she can claim a place in art history. A new exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art features assorted sculptures of Fawcett, one of the most prominent a marble statue of the actress reclining coyly in the nude. The brainchild of noted sculptor Keith Edmier, the exhibit is called "Keith Edmier and Farrah Fawcett 2000," and according to the artist, it's meant to examine the relationship between celebrity and fan. Which explains why there is also on display a nude bronze of Edmier, created by Fawcett. "I wanted [the works] to be almost timeless," says Edmier. "That's why the sculptures don't have clothing."

Some anonymous callers have questioned the legitimacy of the exhibit, which sits next to works by Rodin and Man Ray. But museum curator Lynn Zelevansky defends the sculptures. "Farrah warned me," Zelevansky sighs. "She said, 'I'm a publicity machine.'" But is it art? "Farrah is challenging us to see her as a complex human being, not simply the object of fantasy," Zelevansky says, adding: "If she were Meryl Streep, nobody would be asking these questions."

PHOTO (COLOR): Body work: Fawcett, in art (top) and in the flesh, shows "vulnerability," says Zelevansky.

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By Ting Yu; Jennifer Wren; Liza Hamm; John Hannah; Kwala Mandel; Bob Meadows; Pete Norman; Monica Rizzo; Michele Stueven and Melody Wells