Gao Gang
In February 1954 Gao Gang, the head of the State Planning Council, was purged from government; he killed himself only months later. His presence in the painting immediately on Mao's left placed arts officials in a quandary. Given its popularity among officials and the people, "The Founding of the Nation" had to be shown at the Second National Arts Exhibition (1955), but it was unthinkable that Gao, deemed a traitor, should be depicted. Accordingly, Dong was ordered to remove Gao from the painting, which he did.