Vancouver Island artist sells Trump portrait made with horse manure for $1,800

Vancouver Island artist Wendy Chartrand's portrait of President Donald Trump, titled "The Don of Dung," was sold for $1,800 on the day it was exhibited at the Sooke Fine Arts Show. The work, which uses a paint made from horse manure and water, was accepted to the show after Chartrand posted an image on Instagram. Chartrand said she was surprised by how quickly the piece found a buyer and expressed amusement at the situation. The executive director of the show, Jen Hayward, defended the inclusion of the painting, noting that the Sooke Fine Arts Show has a history of featuring provocative works that reflect current social and political events. Chartrand told CTV News she does not know who purchased the artwork but would like to thank the buyer.

"The medium is the message here. I’ve made the paint from horse s--t," Chartrand wrote on Instagram. "It’s just good to laugh at stuff sometimes. You can’t do anything about it often, so you might as well laugh," she said at the opening. "The Sooke Fine Arts Show has celebrated artistic excellence for 40 years, and we’ve had many provocative pieces that reflected the social and political events of their time," executive director Jen Hayward said.