A portrait of President Trump which hung in the Colorado state Capitol will be taken down after he claimed the image was “purposefully distorted” in a recent social media post.
The oil painting, which was painted by local artist Sarah A. Boardman and unveiled in 2019, will be taken down at the request of Republican leaders in Colorado’s state legislature, reported the Associated Press.
Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, a Republican, said that he requested for Trump’s portrait to be removed and replaced by another image “that depicts his contemporary likeness.”
“If the GOP wants to spend time and money on which portrait of Trump hangs in the Capitol, then that’s up to them,” the Colorado House Democrats said.
The Associated Press reported that the executive committee of the Colorado Legislature, which comprises of both Democrat and Republican leaders, signed a letter directing the removal of Trump’s portrait by Boardman.
To pay for the portrait, former senate president Kevin Grantham raised nearly $11,000 through an online fundraising campaign on GoFundMe on behalf of the group “Colorado Citizens for Culture” (CCC). Several prominent state Republicans also made donations to the fundraiser.
Trump’s portrait at the Colorado state Capitol in Denver. Image via Truth Social.
Trump’s post on Truth Social on the evening of March 23 called Boardman’s portrait “truly the worst”.
“Nobody likes a bad picture or painting of themselves, but the one in Colorado, in the State Capitol, put up by the Governor, along with all other Presidents, was purposefully distorted to a level that even I, perhaps, have never seen before,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “I would much prefer not having a picture than having this one.”
Boardman also painted the state Capitol’s portrait of President Barack Obama, which Trump said “looks wonderful. Then he followed with: “She must have lost her talent as she got older.”
At the unveiling of the portrait of Trump at a ceremony in August 2019, Boardman said she aimed to match the style of artist Lawrence Williams and that the painting took four months to complete.
All 43 of the presidential portraits in the Colorado state Capitol prior to Obama and Trump had been painted by Williams, who died in 2003.
Boardman also explained how she chose the image of Trump, which was approved by the Capitol Building Advisory Committee: “My portrait of President Trump has been called thoughtful, non-confrontational, not angry, not happy, not tweeting. In five, 10, 15, 20 years, he will be another president on the wall who is only historical background and he needs to look neutral.”
The Associated Press also noted that Trump’s comments on Truth Social prompted an influx of visitors seeking to take photos of themselves with the portrait before the announcement about its removal.
“I think it looks like him,” said Kaylee Williamson, an 18-year-old Trump supporter from Arkansas, told the AP. “I guess he’s smoother than all the other ones. I think it’s fine.”
