5 of the best George W. Bush paintings of all time

With everybody talking about the former president's paintings, we thought we'd share some of our favorites

Published April 4, 2014 9:40PM (EDT)

George W. Bush
George W. Bush

Have you seen George W. Bush's latest paintings? The former president has a new exhibit at his presidential library devoted to dozens of portraits of famous world leaders that were painted by none other than himself. He's really graduated from dogs and cats and self-portraits! And people seem to be pretty into them — Business Insider called his Putin portrait "haunting," and BuzzFeed has a full run-down, which is sure to note that Bush is "extremely humble" when it comes to his art. And if you wanna know what was going on inside W's mind while he was hard at work, you don't need to settle for the interview he sat down for with his daughter; National Journal's got you covered.

Anyway, since everyone is pumped-up over these paintings, we figured we might as well throw in our two cents and share a quick rundown of our favorite works of the 43rd president of the United States. We hope you'll agree that these are indeed some really stunning examples of Bush's talents, ones more than deserving of the media's time and energy. And be sure to share some of your favorite Bush paintings in the comments, too!

Here, then, are some of our favorite Bush paintings, in no particular order:

This stunning vista of New Orleans, circa 2005.

Here's another beautiful portrait from New Orleans, this time featuring former FEMA head Michael Brown as well as the artist himself!

Now this one's a real beauty, a moody and evocative depiction of a young man in Iraq.

Yet another gem from Iraq, this time a portrait of a young woman hard at work.

Last but not least is this, Bush's most abstract work. We think it's reminiscent of Kandinsky's most celebrated paintings, albeit with more of the minimalist, down-to-earth, unpretentious style that's made George W. Bush such an indelible figure in American politics.

(All images from Wikimedia Commons, image 5 by user atropos235)


By Elias Isquith

Elias Isquith is a former Salon staff writer.

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