It seems that running Private Eye keeps Ian Hislop so busy that he can’t even leave his desk to have his image painted. The editor has sat for a portrait for artist Nick Botting but was evidently unable to tear himself away from work.
The painting, part of a show by Botting which opens at the Portland Gallery on Thursday, shows Hislop sitting at his cluttered workspace, pen in hand and trays bulging with documents. An uneaten banana and a cup of coffee sit on the desk, alongside a Spitting Image bust of Margaret Thatcher. On the noticeboard, a proof of a cover featuring what seems like Rebekah Brooks looks over his shoulder.
“Ian was extremely easy to be with and he made this extremely easy for me,” Botting said. “Although at a glance it seems chaotic, it actually wasn’t at all, more just full of stuff that was being dealt with.” Hislop sat five times for Botting last autumn. We hope he changed his shirt.
