The audacity of a painting called "Hope"

By GottaLaff

Inspirational:

[I]n the past two weeks, this cozy little art gallery nestled in central London has attracted a growing trickle of visitors in search – literally – of hope.

In this case it takes the form of a painting which may have helped inspire Barack Obama.

Entitled "Hope," the canvas hanging inside London's Guildhall Art Gallery as part of an exhibition by Victorian painter George Frederic Watts might appear unremarkable to some.[...] [I]t depicts a young blindfolded woman strumming on the last unbroken string of a harp, her ear to the instrument.

Obama's controversial former pastor Jeremiah Wright invoked the image as a symbol of inspiration during a sermon in Chicago 20 years ago.

The harpist, he preached, "is sitting there in rags ... her clothes are tattered as though she had been a victim of Hiroshima… [yet] the woman had the audacity to hope."

The imagery stayed with Obama. [...]

Staff say they are surprised at the level of interest in the current Watts exhibition, and specifically in "Hope," and insist that the timing of the exhibition was purely coincidental.

Thanks to its "Obama connection," which has been reported in a few articles in the British press, the exhibition has sparked interest not just among art lovers but among those who normally care little for a few brush strokes. [...]

As an admirer of Watts, the US president-elect will have ample opportunities to admire the latter, which the Englishman gave to the American people.

Where was it eventually installed on the orders of Theodore Roosevelt?

The White House.

So whaddya think... will it make its way on to coffee mugs and tee shirts now that a very popular Barack Obama is president?