Philanthropist with awful taste buys ugly painting for the nation

Art News: A billionaire with an appalling taste in art has bought a spectacularly ugly painting that a national gallery will be forced to display for the next 18 months.

Tony Ross, who founded the world’s largest potato salad company, bought the hideously ugly painting at auction recently for $5.6 million. He has since bequeathed it to the nation, forcing some poor gallery to display the bastard thing for at least a year and a half.

“We always welcome the generous gift of art that philanthropists give to the nation,” said a spokesman for the Arts Council England. “Even the ugly stuff that people with more money than taste buy. The only downside is that we have to put it in a gallery for a while in order to show a bit of thanks to the donor.”

“Once we’ve shown our token bit of gratitude at this kind gesture, the painting will head straight to a warehouse. Or a skip, if I have anything to do with it.”

The work is expected to go on public display next month in a small room that was previously used to keep ladders in.