Noah Shachtman
Security

Pentagon Spends $50K for 2nd Rummy Portrait

Speaking of the government’s silly wall art, the Washington Post has a rather hilarious feature on the massive sums federal agencies pay to get their chiefs’ portraits painted. The Coast Guard in August awarded a $12,000 contract for a portrait of Adm. Thad W. Allen, a sharp drop from the $23,500 it spent in 2005 […]

Speaking of the government's silly wall art, the Washington Post has a rather hilarious feature on the massive sums federal agencies pay to get their chiefs' portraits painted.

The Coast Guard in August awarded a $12,000 contract for a portrait of Adm. Thad W.
Allen, a sharp drop from the $23,500 it spent in 2005 for a likeness of
Allen's predecessor as commandant...

At the upper end of the scale, the Defense Department awaits the expected February completion of a $46,790 portrait of controversial former secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.
It will grace a Pentagon hallway lined with portraits of his predecessors, as well as one from Rumsfeld's first stint as defense secretary from 1975 to 1977.

Refund the money, I say. This portrait, by Iraqi artist Muayad Muhsin, will do just fine:

Muayadmuhsinpicnic