[Special] New York Daily News: Trump Makes Legendary Artist Do Portrait His Way

By Brian Niemietz:

According to celebrated artist Ralph Wolfe Cowan, who was commissioned to paint "The Entrepreneur" for The Donald in 1987, his original portrait included a deliberately colorless portion of the canvas, which was a stylistic choice commonly found in classic oil sketches. When Cowan presented the completed piece to Trump, the billionaire blowhard asked when he was going to finish it. This went on until 2002, when the artist finally relented.

"I did an oil portrait sketch and I love those, where part of the hand or body is missing," Cowan told Confidenti@l. "He did not understand what an oil sketch was."

Cowan, who frequents Trump's posh Florida property, says that the gauche businessman's understanding of art didn't improve with age.

"Every time I'd see him at Mar-a-Lago, he'd ask, 'when are you going to finish the hand?'" he said. "It's hard explaining (it all) to Donald."

According to Cowan, Trump seemed to think that the artist's insistence that the painting was complete was some sort of ongoing negotiation tactic.

"I (originally) got about $24,000," said Cowan, who calls that a bargain. "He always tried to bargain and I don't like that at all."

The Full Story (March 6, 2016)