An artist who anonymously hung two unflattering, waist-up nude portraits of Brian Cowen, the Irish prime minister, in Dublin's National Gallery and Royal Hibernian Academy may face prison time now that the police have discovered his identity.

The artist — Conor Casby, 35, a Dublin school teacher — gave himself away when he contacted Will Hanafin, a producer at Dublin radio station Today FM, to say that he was the artist, although he denied hanging the paintings in the galleries.

Casby later accompanied police officers voluntarily to a station to be questioned. Although no charges have been brought, the police are preparing a file for the director of public prosecutions. The Times of London speculates that Casby could be charged with indecency, incitement to hatred, and/or criminal damage (for hammering a nail into the wall of the National Gallery). If convicted, he would face a fine and possibly time in jail.

RTÉ, Ireland's leading public broadcaster, is also in the doghouse, "for daring to report the incident," according to the Times. The company received a formal complaint from Cowen's office, which led to a somber apology delivered on-air.

Fine Gael, the primary opposition party to Cowen's Fianna Fáil, has criticized the prime minister's reaction to the incident, saying that the whole thing is "more reminiscent of Russia in the 1930s than Ireland in 2009."

Casby issued a statement saying he would like to auction off the portraits and donate the proceeds to charity.