Justin Trudeau sketch of Winnipeg museum auctioned off for $25K

A watercolour sketch drawn by Justin Trudeau months before he became prime minister has been auctioned off on eBay for $25,200.

Trudeau drew the image of the Canadian Museum For Human Rights after visiting the Winnipeg building last spring.

Postcard prints of the image were given recently to Liberal party donors, and museum officials approached Trudeau about getting the original for a museum fundraiser.

The framed and signed image, measuring 41 by 31 centimetres — plus a note Trudeau wrote to chief fundraiser Gail Asper attached to the back — was up for bids on eBay for 10 days.

A spokesperson for the museum's fundraising arm had said the sketch was appraised at $2,000, but a bidding war would be welcomed.

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That's what they got, with the site listing a total of 26 bidders making 81 bids.

The drawing depicts the museum, along with its glass tower, with trees and greenery in front.

It was enough to receive a thumbs-up from one critic.

David Silcox, art historian and former president of Sotheby's Canada, has said that from a technical point of view, the sketch is of a professional calibre, and called the drawing "precise, controlled and done with accurate and impressive perspective."

Notes on the auction site indicated the bidding was only open to residents of Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and France, and that the winning bidder might be eligible for a partial charitable gift receipt "pursuant to Canada Revenue Agency regulations."

The successful bidder has three days to pay for the sketch or it would be offered to the next highest bidder, or possibly relisted.

The museum was the first national museum to be built outside of the Ottawa region. It was spearheaded by the late media mogul Izzy Asper and opened in 2014.