the object of exaggerated scrutiny

"His work, and the results of his campaigns and philanthropy, could be seen everywhere, but the man himself was elusive. He hid from journalists, he hated to be photographed, he seldom gave interviews. He no longer attended his own openings, but instead sent his wife and daughter to preside over them while he stayed at home, unwilling to speak—a great example of how writers and artists should respond—letting his work speak for him, with greater eloquence.

"He was that maddening public figure, a person so determined to avoid being noticed and to maintain his privacy that he becomes the object of exaggerated scrutiny, his privacy constantly under threat. It is the attention seeker and the publicity hound who is consigned to obscurity--or ignored or dismissed. The recluse, the shunner of fame, the "I just want to be alone" escapee—B. Traven was one, so was J. D. Salinger—seems perversely to invite intrusion. Say 'Absolutely no interviews,' and people beat a path to your door."

~~ from On the Plain of Snakes by Paul Theroux