Controversial Danish cartoonist's work raises money for Haiti

Jan 24, 2010, 10:48 GMT

Copenhagen - A watercolour by the Danish newspaper cartoonist who caused outrage among Muslims worldwide in 2006 has raised 19,000 dollars for the benefit of earthquake-ravaged Haiti, reports said Sunday.

Kurt Westergaard's non-political watercolour with various motifs was sold at an online auction organized by a gallery in Skanderborg, western Denmark, the Politiken newspaper reported.

Interest was so high that the gallery's email server went down, so there could perhaps be even higher bids, Galleri Draupner owner Erik Guldager told the newspaper.

Guldager offered to stage the auction after auctioneers Lauritz.com earlier this week said it would not sell the water colour over fears for its staff's security.

Westergaard, 74, is best known for his controversial cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed with a bomb in his turban. It was one of 12 images published in September 2005 by the newspaper Jyllands-Posten.

The cartoons sparked outrage among Muslims and violent protests worldwide in early 2006. Westergaard has since been the target of several assassination plots. A Somali-born man was arrested on January 1 for breaking into the cartoonist's home in western Denmark and threatening him.

The bidder for the water colour was along with the artist and Guldager to select a charity for the Haiti benefit.