The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Calls to scrap costly lord provost ritual
The controversial Russian painting of Barney Crockett has sparked incredulity on social media and reignited a row over the expensive tradition.
Earlier this year, Aberdeen’s lord provost came under fire when it emerged he paid £8,000 for a Moscow artist to immortalise his likeness when he was on a trip there.
Yesterday, we exclusively unveiled the finished work.
The image sent jaws dropping at breakfast tables across the northeast, and has now led to renewed calls for the £10,000 custom to be axed.
The work was commissioned before Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, claiming thousands of innocent lives.
It depicts a contemplative Mr Crockett in his ceremonial chains next to Marischal College, backed by the Scottish flag and the ensign of the Russian Navy.
On Twitter, SNP MSP Jackie Dunbar said the painting would “have no place in the Aberdeen City Council chambers”.
And SNP councillor John Cooke scoffed at the explanation that it was done in Russia due to high portrait prices in Scotland.
He tweeted: “Many ordinary Aberdonians will sympathise with the LP about the rocketing price of portraits. Not.”
Mr Crockett previously said the portrait had been arranged to bolster economic relations with Russia given Aberdeen’s oil economy. But while many criticised the desire to befriend Russia, distrusted on the international stage long before the current conflict, others were left puzzling over the likeness of Mr Crockett.
The painting was crafted by George Dmitriev, known for his seascapes. SNP MP for Aberdeen South, Stephen Flynn, said the kilt-clad figure rendered looks “absolutely nothing like” Mr Crockett.
He also blasted the “background being a Russian Naval ensign”, and the £8,000 cost to the public purse.
Mr Flynn, delighting in his political rival’s misfortune, later added a series of images comparing Mr Crockett’s painting to an infamously askew statue of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Paul Gall took to Facebook to express his thoughts.
He said: “I look at today’s P&J and there is a portrait of Aberdeen’s Lord Provost standing next to what seems to be the Russian Naval Battle Group flag... Bizarre to say the least.”