Cash-strapped Glasgow Council paid for a portrait of a former Lord Provost who quit after claiming for 23 pairs of shoes.
But the framed print does not include Eva Bolander’s footwear as the image does not cover her feet.
Labour councillor George Redmond said: “This is another sign of the SNP council’s wrong set of priorities. It is highly insensitive to spend money on a print when teachers face losing their jobs.”
Bolander, an SNP councillor, quit as Lord Provost in 2019 after the Record exposed how she had claimed around £8,000 on clothes and beauty products.
Her wardrobe overhaul included splashing out £1150 on shoes.
Celebrated Scots artist Gerard Burns had already completed a painting of her standing on a bridge in central Glasgow sporting a black raincoat and grey scarf.
Emails released under freedom of information show exchanges between the council and Burns on the local authority buying a copy.
The £950 price was for a “framed canvas print” and will sit in the council’s in-house gallery.
An insider said it was “ironic” Bolander’s shoes are not visible.
The council has a tradition of commissioning a portrait of former Lord Provosts, but a town hall insider said the decision over Bolander was “sensitive” given her resignation.
The SNP-led council shelled out even though they are facing a three-year funding black hole of over £100m.
Hundreds of teaching jobs may be lost as a way of making savings.
At the time, Bolander also billed the public £992 for 14 dresses, £435 for seven blazers, £358 for spectacles and £200 on a designer hat.
She made the taxpayer stump up for 20 nail treatments and 10 haircuts worth £751.
Her claims were made at a time of service cuts for Glaswegians and she paid back around £2,000.
She apologised at the time: “My spending incurred was within the rules and guidance, however, on reflection, there are items that I should have chosen not to claim.
“For that, I apologise unreservedly to colleagues across the chamber and especially to the people of Glasgow.”
Tory MSP Annie Wells said: “Hard-pressed Glaswegians will not have forgotten how this SNP provost had to resign in disgrace after squandering taxpayers’ cash on personal gifts.
“While the City Chambers will likely have all former provosts in their in-house gallery, taxpayers will be questioning why this is a priority for the SNP-led council.
Scottish politics
“It comes at a time when Eva Bolander’s party’s sustained cuts mean that hundreds of teaching jobs will be lost across the city’s schools over the next few years which will have a devastating impact on our young people.”
A council spokesman said: “The city’s collection of Lord Provost portraits forms a unique record of this part of the city’s civic history. On this occasion, the council has acquired a print of an existing portrait which will be added to the gallery.”
“It is a common misconception that former Lord Provosts receive or are gifted a portrait, which they subsequently lend back to the city. The portraits are owned by the council and looked after by Glasgow Life as part of the city’s wider art collection."
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