Henrik
Larsson scored for our appeal
Controversial
 The
controversial artist had done a portrait of the super Swede in
Celtic colours in his trademark style earlier this year.
The
piece, signed by the Barcelona striker, was auctioned last month
and, under Larsson’s insistence, half of the profits went to The
Sunday Post hospice appeal.
That’s
a cool £19,000!
Glasgow
businessman and former Celtic director Willie Haughey snapped up
the painting at a charity auction for £40,000. It is now on
display at his City Refrigeration offices in Rutherglen.
Howson
sold the piece to raise money for his Third Step Charity, which he
co-founded with friend John Mullen.
John
was delighted with the sale of the artwork and the money it raised
for his charity.
“We
got £20,000 and that was a big help towards our costs.
“Peter
painted this because Larsson is one of those characters who
captures the imagination. That kind of person only comes along
once in a while in Scotland.
“We
wanted the painting to be sold to cover our operating costs at the
Third Step. We needed Henrik Larsson on board to endorse the
piece, so we asked him to sign it.
Powerful
“He
agreed, but only if half the profits went to CHAS and of course we
agreed.
“It’s
a very powerful piece. We’ve had a lot of interest in the
prints, remarkably a lot of it from those who have no interest in
football.
“That
just goes to show how good it is.”
Roslyn Neely, from CHAS, said, “It came as a lovely surprise
when Henrik chose us. It was really touching.
“Even
though he scored against a Scottish team last week, we still think
he’s great and this gesture has ensured the money raised has
gone towards helping two great charities.
“We
had no idea that Henrik would choose us as a charity and, even
though he’s done things for CHAS before, it still came as a
lovely surprise. I’d like to thank him and Peter Howson for the
tremendous amount of money raised.”
Artist
Howson, raised in Glasgow, shot to fame after his graphic Bosnian
War art earned widespread praise. His celebrity clients include
Bob Geldof and David Bowie.
Madonna
In
2002, the artist caused controversy with his nude painting of
Madonna, who is also a fan.
John
Mullen added, “The Third Step was established by Peter to help
those with alcohol addiction. Peter and I have previously
struggled with alcoholism.
I’ve
been dry now for 20 years and Peter for three and a half years.
“We’re
old friends and, when we sat down and thought about what to do
with our lives, the Third Step is what we came up with.
“That
was around two years ago. Peter’s work was obviously something
we looked at. Peter owns the rights to prints of his works, which
we sell and the profits go to our charity.”
Next
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You can e-mail us at:
hospice@sundaypost.com
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John
Mullen, with two City Refrigeration workers, Sarah Mills (left)
and Lisa McHaghney.
