Art News

Florida GOP Plans to Auction Oil Painting of Gov. Charlie Crist

TALAHASSEE, FL (AP).- Just hours after Gov. Charlie Crist announced he would run for the U.S. Senate as an independent, the Florida GOP hastened to remove any likeness to the Republican governor they helped elect. First item to go in the breakup: a $7,500 oil painting that the Republican Party of Florida purchased for its headquarters in Tallahassee. The painting came down after Crist announced that he would skip the GOP primary and run as an independent for the state’s open Senate seat. Officials also removed Crist’s signatures from all party materials. Florida GOP spokeswoman Katie Betta told The Tampa Tribune that the portrait will be auctioned on eBay. Crist’s likeness, however, popped up elsewhere: in paid online ads on the left-leaning news site, The Huffington Post.