‘Don of Dung’ Trump Portrait Created With Horse Manure Sells for a Cool $1,800
“The Medium [...] Seemed Appropriate Considering the Subject.”
It isn’t unusual for artists to paint portraits of presidents, past and present, whether they love them or hate them. Some portraits, such as Kehinde Wiley’s Barack Obama, featuring Obama sitting in a floral jungle, paint presidents in a positive light. Other portraits tend to be a bit less flattering.
Canadian artist Wendy Chartrand created a portrait of Donald Trump titled “The Don of Dung,” using horse manure. Placed in the Sooke Fine Arts Show, the painting sold on the first day for $1,800.
Chartrand explained to CTV News, “I think that sometimes Canadians get tired of all the goings-on south of the border there, with their government. It gets a bit frustrating, and this was kind of my way of expressing my feelings.”
Chartrand Developed Her Own Horse Manure Paint Mixture
The process of painting with horse manure was a smelly one, keeping Chartrand wearing a mask while creating the piece. Because she lives on property containing horses, sourcing her medium was simple.
Chartrand watered down the manure, mashed it, and strained it to create a watercolor-like paint before completing the portrait with charcoal. Chartrand applied lacquer to the finished painting, which neutralized the odor and prevented smudging.
As the artist stated on the placard accompanying the portrait at the Sooke Fine Arts Show, “The medium used is one I have concocted from water and horse manure, which seemed appropriate considering the subject.”
The Sooke Fine Arts Show Welcomed the Portrait
The Sooke Fine Arts Show was more than happy to showcase Chartrand’s piece. According to CTV News, in a statement, executive director Jen Hayward wrote, “The Sooke Fine Arts Show has celebrated artistic excellence for 40 years and we’ve had many provocative pieces that reflected the social and political events of their time.”
As for who bought the painting, Chartrand has no idea. However, she said she’d love to know so she could find them and thank them.
Chartrand told The Langley Advance Times she’s considering creating a series of horse manure portraits featuring politicians she described as “horrible.”
She said Russian President Vladimir Putin would be among the subjects she would consider, jokingly spelling his name “P-O-O-T-I-N.”
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