The artist who painted Bill Clinton's portrait for the National Gallery claims that there's more to the painting than meets the eye. Pennsylvania artist Nelson Shanks said that he slipped a Monica Lewinsky reference into the full-body portrait because the scandal was something he could never get 'completely out of his mind'. The painter said that the reference to former President Clinton's affair with the former White House intern was in the shadows of the painting, in the form of her infamous blue dress. Presidential: The full-body painting of Bill Clinton debuted in the National Portrait Gallery in 2006 (pictured above). The painter of the portrait, Nelson Shanks, has said that the dark space under the mantle represents the scandal involving White House intern Monica Lewinsky which cast a shadow over Clinton's time in office . Scandal: Circled on the left, there's a shadow under the mantle that's in the silhouette of a dress. The portrait caused a stir at the time it was debuted as well, because it as though Clinton is not wearing a wedding band . 'If you look at the left-hand side of it there's a mantle in the Oval Office and I put a shadow coming into the painting and it does two things,' Shanks told Philly.com. Shadow: Lewinsky's infamous blue dress that she claimed held DNA evidence of their affair . He added: 'It actually literally represents a shadow from a blue dress that I had on a mannequin, that I had there while I was painting it, but not when he was there. 'It is also a bit of a metaphor in that it represents a shadow on the office he held, or on him.' Shanks, who's painted portraits of Princess Diana and Pope John Paul II, also said that Clinton was the 'most famous liar of all time'. The portrait caused controversy when it first was revealed in 2006 because it looks like Clinton is not wearing a wedding band, according to the New York Daily News. And according to Shanks, the Clintons 'hate the portrait' and are 'putting a lot of pressure' on the National Portrait Gallery to remove it. But a spokeswoman for the gallery has denied those accusations. When the painting was first debuted in 2006, it seemed as though Bill Clinton was quite pleased. 'I think the painting really feels like Bill Clinton,' he said then, according to the Washington Post. 'It has - I would not call it swagger... What? An informality? A looseness, a relaxed nature.' Shanks's most famous works include Princess Diana, Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan and Luciano Pavarotti. His works spanned political and religious leaders, musicians and composers, actors and more. Controversy: Shanks (right) claims that he could never get Bill Clinton's controversy with Monica Lewinsky (left) 'completely out of his mind', especially when he was creating the portrait . He is a realist whose keen observation skills can be seen in his paintings that have an acute sense of detail, with wrinkles on hands and creases in pants. In 2009 the artist was awarded the Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement by the Portrait Society of America, while in 2011 he was voted an honorary member into the Russian Academy for his works of art. Shanks said because of the Lewinsky controversy, Clinton was the hardest person for him to paint. Lewinsky, who was 22 when she started interning at the White House claimed to have sexual relations with Clinton nine times between 1995 and 1997. Clinton initially swore under oath that he ‘did not have sexual relations’ with Lewinsky but later admitted that he had misled the American public. Clinton famously said he 'did not have sexual relations' with Lewinsky when she claimed they had had relations nine times between 1995 and 1997 . Lewinsky revealed her relationship with the president involved oral sex but not sexual intercourse. She famously kept a blue dress which she claimed held DNA evidence of their affair. In late July, 1998, Monica had to turn a dress over to Kenneth Starr's investigators after signing an immunity agreement. A blood sample was taken from Clinton on August 3, and on August 17, the FBI reported its conclusion that Clinton was the source of the semen on the dress 'to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty.' Clinton, however, was found not guilty and though he was impeached, he remained in office. And with speculations that Clinton's wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, might launch her 2016 presidential bid in April, Bill Clinton could be back in office within two years.
Painter Nelson Shanks claims he put shadow of a dress in Clinton's portrait . He said it represent Monica Lewinsky's infamous blue dress and the cloud the scandal cast on Clinton's time in office . The painting first debuted in the National Portrait Gallery in 2006 . It caused controversy at the time because it looks like Clinton's not wearing a wedding band in the painting . Shanks claims that Clinton family 'hates the portrait' and wants it removed .