Shanks, who has also painted several other prominent figures from Princess Diane to Pope John II, explained that the shadow cast over the mantle on the left-hand side of the painting was in fact a nod to Lewinsky’s blue dress – the dress associated with the scandal regarding her affair with then President Clinton. The artist also said the shadow represents a double meaning.
“It actually literally represents a shadow from a blue dress that I had on a mannequin, that I had there while I was painting it, but not when he (Clinton) was there. It is also a bit of a metaphor in that it represents a shadow on the office he held, or on him” he told the Philadelphia Daily News on Sunday.
Shanks first revealed this “subtle” incorporation when he was asked which one of his many famous subjects was the most difficult to capture, to which he answered Bill Clinton.
“The reality is he’s probably the most famous liar of all time. He and his administration did some very good things, of course, but I could never get this Monica thing completely out of my mind and it is subtly incorporated in the painting.”
Shanks additionally claimed the Clintons want the portrait removed from the National Portrait Gallery, saying that “they are putting a lot of pressure” on the Gallery. The Gallery, however, has denied these accusations.
The revelation comes at a particularly sensitive time for the Clintons, as the Wall Street Journal is reporting the former President’s wife, Hillary Clinton, is likely to enter the Presidential race in April. The reference to the infamous outfit will likely drudge up a political scandal that cost Bill Clinton his impeachment, when he was forced to confess his affair with Lewinsky after a stain of his semen was found on her blue dress.
