Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Prime Minister's new clothes

Prime Minister's new clothes

It's the prime minister as you've never seen him before. A painting by Kingston, Ont.,-based artist Margaret Sutherland depicting Stephen Harper in the nude is creating a stir. Emperor Haute Couture shows the prime minister reclining on a chaise lounge wearing nothing but a smile. He is surrounded by people in suits whose faces can't be seen. A dog rests at his feet as a woman in business attire offers him a Tim Hortons cup on a silver platter.

The painting is on a wall at the Kingston public library, part of an art competition that runs until the end of May.

Chief librarian Patricia Enright said some people think the piece is disrespectful while others like that it is on display. The oil-on-canvas was first displayed last fall at Toronto's Edward Day Gallery, which represents Sutherland. Gallery owner Mary Sue Rankin says the painting is a figurative piece that has a serious message about Harper not living up to his promises.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 19, 2012 A18

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