Obama portrait maker arrested for defacing building

The graffiti artist, whose portrait of US president Barack Obama became an iconic symbol of his election campaign, was arrested in Boston for defacing property.

Frank Shepard Fairey, 38, was arrested and released on Saturday after spending a night in prison for tagging a building with graffiti, police said.

The 38-year-old Los Angeles artist's red-white-and-blue portrait of Obama featured on thousands of posters and stickers during the Presidential elections and virtually became an unofficial logo for the Democrat's campaign.

One of the versions of his portrait is now part of the collection at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.

The artist was arrested after police tracked down his trademark signature tag at several places throughout the city, including on a Massachusetts Turnpike utility building, the Boston Herald reported.

After his arrest, police found that Fairey had a default warrant dating back to September 2000 for failing to appear in court on a tagging charge in Brighton.

Fairey was released on a USD 1,500 cash bail and is due to appear in a district court on Sunday, police said.

"Given his popularity, the suspect, prior to his exhibit, was interviewed by various media outlets in Boston and on a nationwide scale," the paper said quoting a police report.

"In several of these interviews, the suspect spoke openly about illegally tagging... and further acknowledged or admitted to the recent tagging in Boston," the Herald said.

The Institute of Contemporary Art, which is currently exhibiting his works defended Fairey's reputation.

"We believe Shepard Fairey has made an important contribution in the history of art and to popular thinking about art and its role in society," the museum stated.
    
The Associated Press had last year filed a suit against Fairey for basing his famous portrait on a copyrighted photo of Obama.