Charity to auction PM’s drawing
Justin Trudeau visited the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg last March, more than six months before he was elected prime minister. He not only liked what he saw; he made an ink-and-watercolour sketch of the museum’s soaring exterior, designed by U.S. architect Antoine Predock.
Now thanks to a little arm-twisting by Gail Asper, the museum’s godmother, that drawing has been donated to Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (a fund- raising cousin of the national museum) — and is about to be auctioned off on eBay.
First the sketch was converted to postcards to plug the Liberal Party. When Asper heard about that, she asked if it could be donated to Friends as a fundraiser.
“Of course the PM said yes,” says Asper, who spent a decade raising money for the $351million museum. So Friends is auctioning the piece on eBay from Feb. 5 to 15.
“This piece is incredibly special as it showcases a personal side of the prime minister most people didn’t know about, and is one of the very few articles of his personal belongings available,” Asper says.
And like a born auctioneer, she boasts: “The sketch is the first time the PM has publicly revealed his drawing ability.
“While not formally trained, he often finds time to draw, with a specific interest in engineering projects like buildings, bridges and other pieces of infrastructure. With his recent election and incredible popularity, not to mention the worldwide interest in him, this sketch is sure to be a bestseller.”