Facebook Banned a Nude Painting of Donald Trump, Now it's in a Gallery in London

The Guardian/Business Insider

There's no shortage of material online parodying the Trump campaign, it's kind of an art unto itself, which goes some way to explaining why Australian-born artist Illma Gore decided to paint a decidedly unflattering pastel-based pencil and oil portrait of him, a nude one. It's almost beautiful, in a grotesque sort of way, and if you were under any illusions about it having been made in a political context, well, it's called Make America Great Again. I feel like I've heard that somewhere else.

Gore was the first to share it on her Facebook page on February 9th, which was actually just under a month before he seemingly alluded to the size of his weiner during a live GOP debate, and a few days after that happened, the image was banned from Facebook. They notified her that the request for removal had come in the form of a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) infringement notice. Gore claims that a further two dozen users had their accounts deactivated after sharing the image.

I'm just going to leave this here. (via cianapullen.blogspot.com)

She also received threats from Trump supporters with varying levels of severity, up to and including death. Following the Facebook removal the picture was effectively banned from display or distribution anywhere in the USA (where Gore is based), so, naturally, now it's on display here in the UK. On Friday it went up in the Maddox Gallery in central London, valued at £1 million. That's £1 for every 50 times it was view while it was still on Facebook, or about £4 for every time it was shared, roughly.

You can, of course, download a hi-res image for free from Gore's website, and many have, but I can only imagine what kind of moneyed agitator will end up buying the real thing. There's no end date in place for the display as yet, so we might be waiting a while until we find out. The Maddox gallery is open from 10-6 Monday to Friday and 12-6 on Saturdays, located on Brook's Mews in Mayfair, the nearest tube stop is Bond Street, just in case you were curious.

Callum Davies

Callum is a film school graduate who is now making a name for himself as a journalist and content writer. His vices include flat whites and 90s hip-hop. Follow him @Songbird_Callum

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