Swedish artist Lars Vilks killed in traffic accident after years under police protection

Lars Vilks, the Swedish artist who lived under constant police protection, died in a traffic collision in Markaryd, southwest Sweden. The police vehicle transporting him collided with a truck, also killing two protection officers. Vilks gained international notoriety in 2007 with drawings depicting the prophet Muhammad with a dog's body, originally created for an exhibition in Tällerud as a challenge to artistic political correctness. His work triggered numerous death threats and violent attacks, including a 2010 firebombing of his home and a 2015 Copenhagen cafe shooting where film director Finn Nørgaard was killed while Vilks was present. In 2013, Al Qaeda's Inspire magazine listed him among its ten most wanted targets alongside figures like Geert Wilders, Flemming Rose, Salman Rushdie, and Stephane Charbonnier. Before his controversial cartoons, Vilks was known for Nimis, an illegal driftwood sculpture erected in 1980 on a Swedish nature reserve that he declared the independent country 'Ladonia.' When authorities attempted demolition, Vilks sold the work to Joseph Beuys, complicating removal efforts, and after Beuys's death in 1986, it passed to artists Christo & Jeanne-Claude. Vilks's drawings were published by Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which also faced controversy for similar Muhammad depictions. The artist's death marks the end of a life defined by artistic provocation and constant security concerns.