By . Brendan Carlin . Artist's muse: Commons chiefs have commissioned a . £10,000 painting of Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg to be hung in the . Palace of Westminster . Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has defied public uproar over large sums of public money being spent on portraits of MPs – and agreed to pose for one himself. Commons chiefs have commissioned a £10,000 painting of the Liberal Democrat leader to be hung in the Palace of Westminster. The decision comes just weeks after MPs were denounced for spending £250,000 on portraits of a raft of fellow parliamentarians, including a £10,000 picture of Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith. Mr Clegg’s office has defended the move, saying it was the House of Commons, not the Lib Dem leader, which commissioned the work. But last night Mr Clegg faced calls to follow the example of Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman, who two years ago pulled out of a similar taxpayer-funded project because it would not be right in the current economic climate. Labour MP Simon Danczuk said that if Mr Clegg refused to decline ‘this outrageous extravagance’, it would prove how ‘out of touch’ he was with hard-working families. ‘Past decisions on Commons arts commissions are one thing but going ahead with this in such economically difficult times cannot be justified,’ said Mr Danczuk. ‘With hard-working people struggling to make ends meet, this is no time for Nick Clegg to let the taxpayer fork out a small fortune just so he can be immortalised in oils.’ The Commons art collection is overseen by a special committee of MPs which advises Speaker John Bercow and commissions paintings and sculptures. The collection, designed to record 600 years of parliamentary history, now has so many portraits of MPs that they fill several corridors in the Portcullis House block opposite Big Ben. Sources told The Mail on Sunday that the . idea of getting Mr Clegg  to pose for a portrait was first suggested . several years ago but only recently got the go-ahead from the Deputy PM. How Clegg might have looked painted by Picasso during the artist's blue period . The Lib Dem leader imagined in Andy Warhol's pop-art style . And here's how he might have looked if painted on a brick wall by the street artist Banksy . Commons officials are refusing to issue details of the commission, including the name of the artist, as it is ‘commercially sensitive’. Last night, a spokesman for Mr Clegg said decisions on portraits were made by the Commons’ art committee and not by the Government or the Deputy Prime Minister. ‘Party leaders and Ministers are often selected and we agreed to the request on that basis,’ he added.
Liberal Democrat leader facing calls to pull out of the project .
'In such economically difficult times it cannot be justified,' says Labour MP .
By . Brendan Carlin . Artist's muse: Commons chiefs have commissioned a . £10,000 painting of Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg to be hung in the . Palace of Westminster . Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has defied public uproar over large sums of public money being spent on portraits of MPs – and agreed to pose for one himself. Commons chiefs have commissioned a £10,000 painting of the Liberal Democrat leader to be hung in the Palace of Westminster. The decision comes just weeks after MPs were denounced for spending £250,000 on portraits of a raft of fellow parliamentarians, including a £10,000 picture of Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith. Mr Clegg’s office has defended the move, saying it was the House of Commons, not the Lib Dem leader, which commissioned the work. But last night Mr Clegg faced calls to follow the example of Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman, who two years ago pulled out of a similar taxpayer-funded project because it would not be right in the current economic climate. Labour MP Simon Danczuk said that if Mr Clegg refused to decline ‘this outrageous extravagance’, it would prove how ‘out of touch’ he was with hard-working families. ‘Past decisions on Commons arts commissions are one thing but going ahead with this in such economically difficult times cannot be justified,’ said Mr Danczuk. ‘With hard-working people struggling to make ends meet, this is no time for Nick Clegg to let the taxpayer fork out a small fortune just so he can be immortalised in oils.’ The Commons art collection is overseen by a special committee of MPs which advises Speaker John Bercow and commissions paintings and sculptures. The collection, designed to record 600 years of parliamentary history, now has so many portraits of MPs that they fill several corridors in the Portcullis House block opposite Big Ben. Sources told The Mail on Sunday that the . idea of getting Mr Clegg  to pose for a portrait was first suggested . several years ago but only recently got the go-ahead from the Deputy PM. How Clegg might have looked painted by Picasso during the artist's blue period . The Lib Dem leader imagined in Andy Warhol's pop-art style . And here's how he might have looked if painted on a brick wall by the street artist Banksy . Commons officials are refusing to issue details of the commission, including the name of the artist, as it is ‘commercially sensitive’. Last night, a spokesman for Mr Clegg said decisions on portraits were made by the Commons’ art committee and not by the Government or the Deputy Prime Minister. ‘Party leaders and Ministers are often selected and we agreed to the request on that basis,’ he added.
£10,000 painting of the Liberal Democrat leader economically difficult times cannot be