Madonna, Guy Ritchie’s nude painting flops at auction

LONDON - A painting of pop diva Madonna in the nude with her ex-husband, film director Guy Ritchie, flopped at an auction Saturday.

Brian Clements, head of the McTear’s auction house, said there were a few bids for the oil painting by Scottish artist Peter Howson, but none that reached the minimum requirement of 15,000 pounds ($24,277).

The oil painting, from 2005, depicts Madonna lying naked in the foreground while Ritchie rests a hand on her thigh. The two divorced last year after almost eight years of marriage.

The picture had been expected to sell for 22,000 pounds.