Popular conservative artist Jon McNaughton has released a new painting, the latest in his controversial series of anti-Obama artwork.
The Empowered Man—which shows President Obama watching in horror as a thirty something white male, standing in front of the White House holds up the U.S. constitution in one hand and a wad of cash in the other—was released this week.
“I wanted this painting to reflect the hope many Americans are having that we can steer our country back on track,” McNaughton emailed BuzzFeed. “I used real models and it took a couple of months to paint.”
The Empowered Man is a follow up to another painting called Wake Up America, which included inflammatory images of President Obama standing in a rain shower of corporate cash while American workers trudged along in chains.
Both paintings feature the same “everyman” character, who in McNaughton’s telling, has chosen to break off the chains of an oppressive federal government.
The Provo, Utah based painter has struck artistic gold with his series, tapping into a widespread libertarian distrust of Washington, as well as a deep-seated hatred of President Obama, which critics says is animated by racial bias.
McNaughton has now sold two works of art for six figure sums this year, an almost unheard of feat in the art world.
One painting was purchased by his most prominent art patron, Fox News host Sean Hannity.
He’s currently taking bids on the painting, and expects to get between $50,000 and $100,000 for the original canvas of the Empowered Man.
