Portraits of the former president of the United States George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush were painted by the American portrait artist John Howard Sanden in 2011 and 2012 respectively. The paintings were unveiled in 2012 in a ceremony at the White House where they presently hang. [1]
Sanden was chosen as the artist after he was mentioned to the Bushes by the Dallas socialites Harold and Annette Simmons at a dinner at the Simmons home. The Simmons had made a $20 million donation to Southern Methodist University and Sanden had painted Annette's portrait for the university. An aide to George W. Bush invited Sanden to Dallas, where the former President greeted Sanden in a bathrobe as he was not sure what to wear. A gray suit was eventually chosen. [2] Bush's portrait was completed in 2011; its success led his wife Laura to choose Sanden for her own portrait which was completed in 2012. [3]
The paintings were commissioned by the White House Historical Association and were donated to the White House as a gift of the George B. Hartzog, Jr. White House Acquisition Trust. [3]
Sanden felt that the hardest part of the portrait was avoiding any appearance of George W. Bush smirking, saying in an interview for American Artist magazine that "The smirk shows up when he doesn't want it, and he tends to mug for the camera, as though he can't help it". [2] A previous portrait artist, Robert Anderson, had also experienced difficulty in capturing Bush's mouth having "been aware of the public consciousness of his smirking. I'd paint the mouth, wipe it off, paint it again, let it set for a couple of days, then decide, 'No, that isn't right either". Bush himself told Anderson that he had frustration with the appearance of his mouth. [2]
In his portrait George W. Bush is depicted in the Oval Office, standing in the center of the room. Bush's right hand is resting on an armchair made by William King, Jr. for the White House in 1818 and part of the Resolute desk can be seen behind the armchair. The 1929 painting A Charge to Keep by William H. D. Koerner hangs over Bush's right shoulder. The painting had special significance for Bush and was the title of his 1999 memoir. [3]
In her portrait Laura Welch Bush is standing in the Green Room of the White House. The room was refurbished in 2007 with her participation. Bush is wearing a gown in midnight blue with her left hand resting on a lyreback armchair attributed to Duncan Phyfe, c.1810. The 1767 portrait of Benjamin Franklin by David Martin hangs behind Bush over a neoclassical mantel. [3]
The paintings were unveiled as a pair in the East Room of the White House on May 31, 2012, in a ceremony attended by both Bushes and President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. [4] A few hundred former members of Bush's staff attended the ceremony. Members of the Bush family that were present included George W. Bush's parents, the former President George H. W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush, and the Bushes daughters Jenna and Barbara. Former members of the Bush administration in attendance included the former White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Karl Rove, former United States Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, former United States Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, the former Attorney General of the United States Alberto R. Gonzales, the former White House Chief of Staffs Andrew Card and Josh Bolten as well as the former Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Karen Hughes, and the former White House Social Secretary Lea Berman. [1] [5]
The New York Times reported that George W. Bush turned to President Obama with a 'look of mock chagrin' and said "Thank you so much for inviting our rowdy friends to my hanging" and for the Obama's feeding of 14 members of the Bush family. [1] Laura Bush told Michelle Obama that "nothing makes a house a home like having portraits of its former occupants staring down at you from the walls". [1]
At the ceremony President Bush recounted the burning of the White House in 1814 and the saving of Gilbert Stuart's portrait of President George Washington by First Lady Dolley Madison. President Bush said, "Now Michelle, if anything happens, there's your man," and pointed to his own portrait. [6] Michelle Obama replied "I promise you ... I'm going straight for it." [4] Former President Bush joked that the White House's presidential portrait collection now began and ended with 'George W.' in reference to the portrait of Washington. [7] Bush jokingly told Obama he could "gaze at this portrait and ask, 'What would George do?'" if Obama was faced with tough decisions during his presidency. [1]
George W. Bush praised Sanden's work describing his "fine job with a challenging subject". [7]
Laura Lane Bush is an American educator who was the first lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009 as the wife of George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States. Bush was previously the first lady of Texas from 1995 to 2000 when her husband was governor.
The Oval Office is the formal working space of the president of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C.
The Blue Room is one of three state parlors on the first floor in the White House, the residence of the president of the United States. It is distinctive for its oval shape. The room is used for receptions and receiving lines and is occasionally set for small dinners. President Grover Cleveland married Frances Folsom in the room on June 2, 1886, the only wedding of a President and First Lady in the White House. The room is traditionally decorated in shades of blue. With the Yellow Oval Room above it and the Diplomatic Reception Room below it, the Blue Room is one of three oval rooms in James Hoban's original design for the White House.
The Red Room is one of three state parlors on the State Floor in the White House, the Washington D.C. home of the president of the United States. The room has served as a parlor and music room, and recent presidents have held small dinner parties in it. It has been traditionally decorated in shades of red. The room is approximately 28 by 22.5 feet. It has six doors, which open into the Cross Hall, Blue Room, South Portico, and State Dining Room.
The State Dining Room is the larger of two dining rooms on the State Floor of the Executive Residence of the White House, the home of the president of the United States in Washington, D.C. It is used for receptions, luncheons, larger formal dinners, and state dinners for visiting heads of state on state visits. The room seats 140 and measures approximately 48 by 36 feet.
The Vermeil Room is located on the ground floor of the White House, the official residence of the president of the United States. The room houses a collection of silver-gilt or vermeil tableware, a 1956 bequest to the White House by Margaret Thompson Biddle. Portraits of American First Ladies hang in the room.
The Cross Hall is a broad hallway on the first floor in the White House, the official residence of the president of the United States. It runs east to west connecting the State Dining Room with the East Room. The room is used for receiving lines following a State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn, or a procession of the President and a visiting head of state and their spouses.
The Yellow Oval Room is an oval room located on the south side of the second floor in the White House, the official residence of the president of the United States. First used as a drawing room in the John Adams administration, it has been used as a library, office, and family parlor. It was designated the Yellow Oval Room during the restoration overseen by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Today the Yellow Oval Room is used for small receptions and for greeting heads of state immediately before a State Dinner.
John Howard Sanden was an American portrait artist.
The White House Historical Association, founded in 1961 through efforts of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, is a private, non-profit organization that works to preserve the history of the White House and make that history more accessible to the public. As of March 2022, the president of the association is Stewart McLaurin.
Beginning with painter Gilbert Stuart's portrait of George Washington, it has been tradition for the president of the United States to have an official portrait taken during their time in office, most commonly an oil painting. This tradition has continued to modern times, although since the adoption of photography as a widely used and reliable technology, the official portrait may also be a photograph.
Jenna Welch Bush Hager is an American news personality, author, and journalist. She is the co-host of Today with Hoda & Jenna, the fourth hour of NBC's morning news program, Today. Hager and her fraternal twin sister, Barbara, are the daughters of the 43rd U.S. President, George W. Bush, and former First Lady Laura Bush. Hager is also a granddaughter of the 41st U.S. President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush, great-granddaughter of former U.S. Senator Prescott Bush, niece of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and first cousin of former Land Commissioner of Texas, George P. Bush.
The Peacemakers is an 1868 painting by George P.A. Healy. It depicts the historic March 27, 1865, strategy session by the Union high command on the steamer River Queen during the final days of the American Civil War. Although he painted it in at least two versions, the largest was destroyed by fire in 1893, and the second sat unknown in storage for decades. Since 1947, it has been in the White House collection.
The following is a timeline of the presidency of Barack Obama, from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2012. For his time as president-elect, see the presidential transition of Barack Obama; for a detailed account of his first months in office, see first 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency; for a complete itinerary of his travels, see list of presidential trips made by Barack Obama.
Robert McCurdy is an American artist known for his photorealistic oil paintings and photographs of notable figures in contemporary history. Among works held in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., are paintings of Toni Morrison, Jane Goodall, Neil Armstrong, and others. In 2002, McCurdy was commissioned to paint a portrait of US Representative Martin Sabo for the US Capitol. He completed the official White House painting of former President Barack Obama in 2018. The portrait of President Obama was unveiled at a ceremony in the White House, simultaneously with the portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama by Sharon Sprung, on September 7, 2022.
President Barack Obama is an oil-on-canvas portrait of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, completed by the artist Kehinde Wiley in 2018 for the National Portrait Gallery.
First Lady Michelle Obama, initially titled Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama, is a portrait of former First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama, painted by the artist Amy Sherald. Unveiled in 2018, it hangs in the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in Washington, D.C. The six-by-five-foot oil-on-linen painting shows Obama, rendered in Sherald's signature grisaille, resting her chin lightly on her hand, as a geometric print dress flows outward filling the frame against a sky-blue background.
The following is a timeline of the presidency of George W. Bush, from January 1, 2008 to January 20, 2009.
Edmund Stuart Bittinger, better known by Ned Bittinger, is an American portrait painter and illustrator who is known for his paintings of prominent American figures. His notable works include the congressional portraits of Abraham Lincoln and Lindy Boggs for the United States Capitol, as well as Secretaries of State James Baker and Lawrence Eagleburger's official State Department portraits. He has also painted official portraits of Henry Kissinger, John Mica, and Jon Corzine, among others.
Sharon Sprung is an American painter based in Brooklyn, New York. She is primarily known for her portrait paintings such as Congressional portraits of Jeannette Rankin and Patsy Mink, as well as former First Lady Michele Obama's official White House portrait. She is an instructor at the Art Students League of New York.
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