No sale for Howson painting of Madge
A NUDE painting of Madonna and her ex-husband Guy Ritchie failed to sell at auction yesterday – despite a £22,000 estimate.
The Queen of Pop once told friends she was unhappy with the painting and threatened to buy and destroy it, while Ritchie’s father John dubbed it “disgusting”.
The striking Peter Howson work shows a rather muscular Madonna reclining naked in the marital bed with Ritchie beside her, his hand on her thigh.
The painting by the 51-year-old Scot, left, was completed three years before the couple split in an acrimonious, multi-million pound divorce last year.
It was snapped up at the time by a Scottish art collector, before Madonna could get her hands on it.
Yesterday a spokesman for Glasgow auctioneers McTear’s said: “The painting was put up for sale by a private collector who wishes to remain anonymous.
“When it was unveiled in 2005 it created a huge amount of controversy but I think it is safe to say it is one of a kind and it is still for sale.”
Paintings by Howson hang in more than 40 private and public galleries around the world and in the homes of celebrities including David Bowie and Mick Jagger.