Cherie Blair, the wife of Prime Minister Tony Blair, posed nude for a painting when she was a trainee lawyer in her mid-20s, The Times reported.

Cherie Blair, who goes by the name Cherie Booth professionally, is now a leading human rights lawyer, but for more than a year, posed for Euan Uglow as he painted "Striding Nude, Blue Dress".

The painting, for which she was paid five pounds (7.4 euros, 9.8 dollars) an hour, depicts a woman wearing a sleeveless dress open at the front.

She was required to pose still for up to an hour at a time in Uglow's south London studios. Uglow later painted a second version of the painting with a different model.

"He wasn't pleased with the painting because it wasn't finished," said Will Darby, Uglow's close friend and dealer for 25 years.

"We exhibited it in 1983 alongside the finished one but after that he just didn't want to show it."

"He was friends with the Blairs and it was his wish that it would never be shown after they entered public life," Darby told The Times.

The painting was stored at the Browse and Darby gallery in London until Uglow's death in 2000, and is now being held by the Marlborough Fine Art Trust.

According to The Times, Blair's Downing Street office declined to comment on the issue.

（Agencies）