Nude Spears painting 'censored' for Obama

A painting that shows Britney Spears flashing her private parts was covered up in an art gallery before a visit by US Presidential hopeful, Barack Obama.

The politician's aides feared he might be offended by the artwork, by painter Jamie Boling.

So they threw a white sheet over the 6ft by 10ft canvas, titled Snake Charmer.

His campaign team also removed a second painting, called Honest Abe, also by Boling, before the fund-raiser.

It showed a woman in a bright red shirt emblazoned with the slogan "Kill Lincoln" — the reproduction from a character from the 1982 cult movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

Chart star Spears famously showed off her private parts in a paparazzi photo when she got out of Paris Hilton's car without underwear earlier this year.

The painting is a reprduction of that shot.

Democrat senator for Illinois Obama addressed about 500 supporters at the rally, held at Richmond, Virginia's Plant Zero gallery last week.

Campaign spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki did not return calls.

Boling told a US newspaper he was at first unhappy about his art being covered up.

But the artist, who attened the event, added: "The longer I thought about it, I realised what the issue was.

"That space that leads into the event space was going to be used for photography.

"He was a dynamic speaker. He was motivated and he was inspiring."

It comes after Obama, who is trailing his party's fellow White House wannabe Hillary Clinton in the polls, blundered when he accidentally inflated the death toll in the recent Kansas tornado from 12 to 10,000.

He made his campaign gaffe when blaming the Bush administration's over-commitment to Iraq crisis for a lack of fast relief for the area.

Obama, 45, hopes to become America's first black President in the 2008 race for the White House.