Howson’s Madonna and Guy under the hammer

Scottish artist's 2005 nude portrait of the singer and her then husband is expected to make £20,000 at auction

FIRST POSTED MAY 28, 2009

A nude portrait of Madonna and her ex-husband Guy Ritchie is expected to fetch more than £20,000 when it goes for auction this weekend, with interest in the Scottish figurative artist Peter Howson's work sparked by the couple's divorce last year.

The canvas shows a Rubenesque Madonna reclining on a bed while Ritchie paws at her thigh. It is one of a series of nude paintings the Glasgow-based painter has made of the singer. It reportedly angered Ritchie but delighted Madonna, who owns several of his works.

The 51-year-old painter, who was Britain's official war artist during the Bosnian conflict, is also collected by Mick Jagger and David Bowie.

The portrait, which is owned by a private collector, will go under the hammer at McTears auctioneers in Glasgow. The couple's split was likely to boost the sale price, said auction house director Brian Clements. He added: "The painting is very impactive and quite subtly portrays the artist's conception of the couple's relationship. Madonna is seen as the strong and dominant figure."