A Poor Portrait
Cartoon published 03/25/2025
A portrait of Donald Trump was added to a collection of other paintings of presidents in the Colorado State Capitol.
The artist, Sarah Boardman, also painted one of Barack Obama. With Trump she decided to make him ’not texting, neutral and non-confrontational.’ Why she would paint him that way, I don’t know, but I suspect she’s not a fan of the president and the result was a pudgy, weak-looking person. When I first saw the portrait I thought it was Lindsey Graham sporting a Trump hairstyle and with much darker eyes, but neither Lindsey nor Trump have the dark eyes daubed by the artist.
Realistic portraits are not easy to do—I know, I’ve tried. I attempted several in my college days. Capturing a likeness is not always easy, and capturing the person’s character is even harder. Hunter Biden certainly could not come close to producing a portrait and if he could it would probably resemble the end-stage of Dorian Gray.
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But I digress. There have been many great portrait painters throughout history. Two of my favorites are Jacques-Louis David and François Gérard. Those French painters produced magnificent works without the aid of photographs and they were able to capture more than physical likenesses. They captured the spirit of those they painted. They both painted famous portraits of Napoleon. I’m sure they would both know how to paint Trump—and there would be no doubt Trump would be delighted with the results.
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Trump’s post on Truth Social said his likeness was “purposefully distorted to a level that even I, perhaps, have never seen before.” The president added he “would much prefer not having a picture” than see his portrait remain hanging and so it will be removed. Frankly, we feel the president has more important things to worry about. It’s unlikely her portrait would have attracted much attention had he not objected. The painting is definitely not definitive and unlikely to hang in the Louvre anytime soon.
— Ben Garrison
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