John Oliver may be best known as a comedian and television host, but he’s also a connoisseur of fine art, as fans of Last Week Tonight no doubt already know, as well as a bit of a philanthropist. Over the past year, in an effort to help museums fighting to stay afloat during the COVID pandemic, he graciously offered to loan out the collection of creative works he has amassed as part of the show’s oddball collection, as The Wrap reports. “For some reason, many agreed,” Oliver announced in a YouTube video (which you can watch above). “So over the next few months, our collection will be visiting exactly five museums.”
What can art fans expect to see? Oliver’s glad you asked. Among the masterworks on loan are what the host describes as a “magnificent picture of Wendy Williams eating a lamb chop. You’ll also find this sad tie, painted by Judith Kudlow as part of a series exploring the absence of her husband Larry [Kudlow]” (a.k.a. Donald Trump’s former economic advisor and a frequent Fox News pundit who is regularly putting his foot in his mouth and getting caught making racist remarks).
But what Oliver has rightly dubbed the collection’s pièce de resistance—“and where our collection began”—is a painting titled “Stay Up Late,” by Pennsylvania artist Brian Swords. While a less cultured person might describe the image as two rats f*cking, Oliver sees it as “a study of rat friendship which really has to be seen in person to be fully appreciated. Just look at the brushstrokes there. It’s like if Monet had a Furry period.”
The art tour will kick off in September at the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, “As I’m just going to assume Judy would have wanted,” Oliver says. Who needs the hassle of flying to Paris to see the Mona Lisa when you could gaze upon Wendy Williams eating a hunk of meat in Minnesota?
You can view the full schedule for the Last Week Tonight art tour at lwtgallery.com or the much more fun to type johnoliverhasyourraterotica.com.
(Via The Wrap)