naked obese woman sets world record: $33.6 million

That there, is some serious cash, for a painting.  They call it  "bold and imposing example of the stark power of Lucian Freud's realism," depicting "the forceful and undeniable physical presence of people and things."

The 51 year old English woman in the painting, said she was embarrassed to pose naked in front of the artist, but eventually got comfortable enough, so much so that she crashed and fell asleep, hence the pose in the painting.

The 1995 life-size work, "Benefits Supervisor Sleeping," fetched $33.6 million during bidding at Christie's auction house in New York. The previous record was for "Hanging Heart," a painting by Jeff Koonz that sold for $23.5 million, said Rik Pike, a spokesman for Christie's.

The art seems to elicit an immediate response from every single person who sees it. 

A gasp of shock, a sigh, a squeal of delight, even.

What about you?

Comments

[MM]

(I am considering myself, pre-weight loss, sleeping, open-mouthed and drooling, on a couch. The only real difference is that I didn't have breasteses. Wondering how much THAT would fetch?)

[Robyn]

Hey Beth,

You PROMISED you would never publish up my nude pre-op photos! LOL.

Robyn

[MM]

You promised you'd pay me to keep my trap shut, too.

[Jenn]

I think its a nice painting, although the facial expression is mighty unflattering - I don't think the artists comments on her unusual proportions etc were especially flattering either, he made her sound like a circus freak or something. Those are not unusual proportions, those are pretty much standard these days in America and Britain. If I were her, I'd be very uncomfortable with all the attention this has garnered.

[Jennifer]

I would kill a person that even snapped a picture of me when I looked like that. There is NO way in the world someone could have convinced me to pose for a painting. I think she deserves all the money.
Somedays I still see myself looking like that lying on the couch.