At Bush's art show, some prefer his paintings to his politics

DALLAS — The painting that greets visitors at the first exhibit of George W. Bush’s artwork is a portrait of the artist as an older man. Blue tie, gray hair, his expression is flinty, reserved, less inviting than some of the other 29 portraits of world leaders on display at his presidential center here. The temporary exhibit, titled the “The Art of Leadership” — note double meaning of “art” — opened to the public Saturday amid curiosity about what the former leader of the free world has been doing with himself the last couple of years.  

Would the show be an embarrassment, a vanity project forced on the public by a fledgling artist? Or can the guy really paint?

A handful of eager aficionados gathered outside the presidential center before it opened, including Bob Brunkow, a retired executive for a communications company. Brunkow was 4,500 miles into an 8,000-mile drive throughout the United States that began in Friday Harbor, Wash., where he lives. “I admire someone who tries something new at his age,” said Brunkow, who is the same age — 67 — as the former president. “Maybe I should learn to play the piano or something.”

The exhibit begins with a video presentation featuring interviews with Condoleezza Rice, first lady Laura Bush, and Bush himself. He explains that a 1948 essay by Winston Churchill titled “Painting as a Pastime” prompted him to swap his sport coat for a smock. “I had never lifted a brush before, never mixed paint,” Bush says in the video. “So I gave it a whirl.”

And what a whirl it’s been. A number of his paintings were revealed by the hacker known as Guccifer, who broke into Bush’s family’s email accounts and sent the contents, including photos of the paintings, to news outlets. Those paintings included a still life of a watermelon, his dog Barney, and, infamously, a nude, though still G-rated, self-portrait in the shower. 

None of those more whimsical works were on display at the presidential center. Instead these were serious portraits of world leaders, including close friends like Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, and the Dalai Lama. Blair appears resolute, his lips a straight line, a glimmer in his eye. The Dalai Lama as seen by Bush is tender and inquisitive. 

Even if you didn’t know who any of these people were, you could probably guess which ones Bush considers friends. Junichiro Koizumi, the former prime minister of Japan, looks like he’s smiling at an inside joke. Bush captures Václav Havel, the former president of the Czech Republic, mid-chuckle. 

In contrast, Hamid Karzai, the current president of Afghanistan, whose relationship with the United States government has been fraught at times, appears haunted. Jiang Zemin, the former president of the People’s Republic of China, is glaring at something or someone beyond the canvas, his pursed lips betraying deep displeasure.

The most talked about-portrait is that of Vladimir Putin, the current president of Russia, about whom Bush once said he could “see into his soul.” If this painting is any sign, then what Bush sees in Putin’s soul is dead-eyed determination. One visitor, Andrew Ulianov, who has lived in Dallas for the past year but is originally from Moscow, noticed that the portrayal of Putin stands out. “He appears a little bit colder than the rest,” said Ulianov, who works in banking and plans to return to Russia at some point. “I guess that’s obvious.”

For Jeff Dunlap, a basketball coach and director of basketball operations at North Carolina State University, the portraits are a testament to Bush’s understanding of the other leaders he dealt with, a tribute to his ability to size up both allies and adversaries. “He did an outstanding job connecting with those people,” said Dunlap, who was in town for the NCAA basketball tournament. “That’s what impressed me.”

Jerry White was amazed that Bush could learn to paint so well in such a short time, just two years. White, a retired petroleum engineer, was part of a senior tour group from Broken Arrow, Okla., that came down in a bus to view the exhibit. His late wife was a painter, too. “Bush may not have been a silver-tongued orator, but he’s a good man and you can see that,” White said.

Woody Kitts toured the exhibit atop a motorized scooter adorned with multiple skull tattoos. When asked what he liked most, Kitts pointed to the “big tall thing with the fan on it.” Kitts was describing an ornate “Christmas candle carousel” that was a gift from Angela Merkel, the current chancellor of Germany. Many of the paintings were accompanied by a display case of curios from those leaders, including a chess set from José Maria Aznar, the former president of Spain, and a whip made of crocodile skin from John Howard, the former prime minister of Australia.

The quality of Bush’s paintings won over at least one of his vehement detractors. A Dallas professional and self-identified Democrat, who declined to give his name, had nothing but praise for the artistic vision of a president whose policies he abhorred. “I think it’s great that he found something he’s good at,” he said upon exiting the exhibit. “Perhaps he should have tried this before he tried politics.”