Naked Ambition

"You're a politician, a public figure. What on earth were you thinking?"

Up-and-coming junior minister Gregory Buchanan has had a portrait painted of himself by the acclaimed artist Sophie White--a painting she intends to enter in this year's Archibald Prize. Until then, Gregory has hung it in pride of place on his dining-room wall. It's a life-sized standing portrait, practically photographic in nature. And it's a nude.

His wife will be home soon and he thinks the painting will be a pleasa...