A painting of former President Bill Clinton on display at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery features a secret reference to the Monica Lewinsky scandal, the painter told the Philadelphia Daily News in an interview published Sunday.
Artist Nelson Shanks, 77, told the newspaper that a shadow falling across the left side of the painting “literally represents a shadow from a blue dress” the artist kept on a mannequin while he worked on the painting outside of Clinton’s presence.
“It is also a bit of a metaphor in that it represents a shadow on the office he held, or on him,” he added.
Shanks, who described Clinton as “probably the most famous liar of all time,” said: “He and his administration did some very good things, of course, but I could never get this Monica thing completely out of my mind.”
He also said that the Clintons “hate the portrait” and want it removed from the National Portrait Gallery, although a representative of the museum denied that to the Daily News.
See the portrait below: