"The portrait of Jesus had been painted onstage by artist Vanessa Horabuena who, the president said, was one of the greatest artists anywhere in the world. To me, she's one of the greatest. In fact, she did something last night that was incredible. She can paint, slowly, a beautiful portrait for the White House, or she can paint the most incredible painting in literally 10 minutes, he added on video of the event broadcast on conservative channel Newsmax."
"Trump's flow of superlatives continued as Horabuena tackled the large black canvas with a paintbrush as a band launched into a slow rendition of Hallelujah. Draw something really special. I don't know what it is, but draw something really special, he said, opening the bidding at $100,000. I don't know how you do that, he said to the artist, explaining that half the auction proceeds would go to St Jude's children's hospital and half to the local sheriff's department."
"These people are loaded with cash, just so you know, he added. The picture sold for $2.75m to a woman in a top hat. Revellers at the gala included former adviser Rudy Giuliani; the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem; the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his wife, Sara; the Emirati billionaire Hussain Sajwani; Brett Ratner, director of Amazon's forthcoming Melania documentary; House Republican Tom Emmer; and Jeanine Pirro, attorney general for the District of Columbia."
Donald Trump hosted a New Year's Eve gala at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach that featured an onstage painting auction and numerous high-profile guests. Artist Vanessa Horabuena painted a portrait of Jesus live; Trump praised her artistic skill and contrasted her slow portraits with her rapid, striking work. The auction opened at $100,000 and the painting sold for $2.75m to a woman in a top hat. Half the proceeds were allocated to St Jude's children's hospital and half to the local sheriff's department. Attendees included political figures, entertainment industry names, and international guests.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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