LARS VILKS

They both carved out sterling reputations as military and political leaders over years of public service.

Sweden Artist-Lars Vilks Swedish artist Lars Vilks at his home outside Hoganas in Sweden, Sunday May 16, 2010. Vilks, who had lived under police protection since his 2007 sketch of the Prophet Muhammad with a dog’s body brought death threats, died from a traffic accident Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021, Swedish news media reported. (Bjorn Lindgren/TT via AP) (Bjorn Lindgren)STOCKHOLM — (AP) — Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who had lived under police protection since making a sketch of the Prophet Muhammad with a dog’s body in 2007, died in a weekend crash along with two police bodyguards, police said Monday. Born in 1946 in Helsingborg, in southern Sweden, Vilks worked as an artist for almost four decades, and rose to fame for challenging the boundaries of art through several controversial works. His most famous pieces included “Nimis” — a sculpture of driftwood built without permission in Sweden’s Kullaberg nature reserve — as well as Prophet Muhammad drawings, including the one that showed the prophet as a dog.

Lars Vilks and his two police chaperones died after a truck smashed into their car in the southern Swedish town of Markaryd on Sunday.

Lars Vilks lived under police protection and constant threat, including from al Qaeda, after his depiction of the Muslim prophet.

Sweden Artist-Lars Vilks Swedish artist Lars Vilks at his home outside Hoganas in Sweden, Sunday May 16, 2010. Vilks, who had lived under police protection since his 2007 sketch of the Prophet Muhammad with a dog’s body brought death threats, died from a traffic accident Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021, Swedish news media reported. (Bjorn Lindgren/TT via AP) (Bjorn Lindgren)STOCKHOLM — (AP) — Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who had lived under police protection since his 2007 sketch of the Prophet Muhammad with a dog’s body brought death threats, has died in a traffic accident, police said. She said the police car veered into the path of the truck and both vehicles burst into flames. Vilks was largely unknown outside Sweden before 2007, when he drew a sketch of Muhammad with a dog’s body.

Police say Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who had lived under police protection since his 2007 sketch of the Prophet Muhammad with a dog’s body brought death threats, has died in a traffic accident.

Sweden Artist-Lars Vilks FILE - Swedish artist Lars Vilks speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Malmo, Sweden, Wednesday March 4, 2015. Vilks, who had lived under police protection since his 2007 sketch of the Prophet Muhammad with a dog’s body brought death threats, died from a traffic accident Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021 Swedish news media reported. (AP Photo/David Keyton) (David Keyton)STOCKHOLM — (AP) — The Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who had lived under police protection since his 2007 sketch of the Prophet Muhammad with a dog’s body brought death threats, died from a traffic accident Sunday, Swedish news media reported. The accident reportedly involved a truck colliding with a civilian police car in which Lars Vilks and his police protection were traveling, news media said. Vilks’ life changed radically 13 years ago after he drew a sketch of Muhammad with a dog’s body.

Swedish news media are reporting that the Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who had lived under police protection since his 2007 sketch of the Prophet Muhammad with a dog’s body brought death threats, has died from a traffic accident.

A new exhibition at a Polish state museum features the works of provocative artists in what organizers describe as a celebration of free speech, and a challenge to political correctness and “cancel culture.”.