Posted on 12/06/2008 4:35:39 PM PST by re_tail20
PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- President George Bush was presented a gold medal Saturday at the unveiling of his portrait at the Union League of Philadelphia.
"Welcome to my hanging," the president joked to the crowd upon his arrival.
He was given several ovations by those on hand.
Bush drew laughs for his self-deprecating comments about his looks.
Bush's portrait was painted by Mark Carder. The club has a gallery displaying portraits of every Republican president since Abraham Lincoln.
"(Carder) did a really fine job with a challenging subject," Bush said. "I was taken aback by how much gray paint you had to use."
In accepting his medal, Bush also took time to mention his mother, former first lady Barbara Bush, was doing well after ulcer surgery, calling her "a tough old bird -- whose spirits are soaring high."
On the way to the unveiling, the president's plane did a flyover of Lincoln Financial Field, site of Saturday's annual Army-Navy football game. Bush later attended the 109th meeting of the two military academies, his third time as president, and participated in the game's coin toss.
In an interview on CBS Sports, Bush was asked what the game meant to him. "Well," he answered, "it means to me that I have -- I got a chance to come and be with people who will be joining the finest military in the history of the world."
"I stand in awe of somebody who would volunteer to serve America in a time of danger.
Need pictures for this, please
There are some pictures on the Day in the Life of President Bush, todays date, of the portrait.
Awful portrait.
I agree, he looks meek—doesn’t portray strength. Why would he approve that?
You are right, the arms look the same.
The strength that he has shown is his support for Johnny Sutton against the former agents. There he is unbending and lacking in the “compassion” that he claimed to represent.
The artist, Mark Carder, favors this sort of stance in most of his portraits. Here is one he has done of Bush the elder and Mrs. Bush:
Nice portrait. Classy, dignified and professional. Unlike clowns prior to him.
God dang, you are right!!!!!
What great observation!!!
Thank you.
Honestly, if that was your portrait--you wouldn't ask for a do-over?
I couldn't see the desk on my monitor. I guess that's a little better than the arm just hanging down. His posture still looks submissive to me, with the sloping shoulders and the head forward. It's not at all the way he walks. He walks very authoritatively, with head up, shoulders back. I think the artist should have captured that air of self-assurance which I have always admired in Bush.
I dunno. I don’t like Mark Carder’s style at all. He paint people to hang there like marionettes.
Of course, maybe it’s a comment on the fact that politicians are merely impotent puppets of others... /tinfoil
Body language is very telling. Guess the artist is a Bush hater.
at least it’s not on velvet, bare chested with a halo over his head?
Don't worry--once Eric Holder indicts President Bush for war crimes, Obama will have the Bush portrait stored away in the attic.
It looks more pale than President Bush usually looks. I hope it's the lighting in the photographs and not the portrait.
The worst part is the mouth. I’ve never seen W with that look.
Artistically, this is a portrait which tells quite the story. I think the artist did a very good job of incorporating so much in this portrait. Hits me right in the chest as I review all that this President has dealt with during his two terms. And he never broke.
I sincerely hope he enjoys his retirement. He has earned it.
Nothing at all like this:
while looking for that, I found this...
Because he is weak and doesn’t portray strength?
Where's the Bush swagger? Remember how Bush walked off Marine I into the White House, immediately after the 911 attacks? Love him or hate him, on that day Americans were like F**k Yeah! This guy is in charge and the world is about to feel American vengeance. That's the image that should be portrayed. Americans want to see that guy immortalized on canvas. It was his most triumphant day as president, not this milquetoast battered Pee Wee Hermanesque image depicted in that awful portrait.
ya gotta be kiddin me...
1) The plate comes with a certificate of authenticity, unfortunately the subject does not.
2) Is that a collectors plate or a collection plate?
At least his hands are down at his side,unlike octopus Bill Clinton.
If only he was history.
You see this boy’s?These crackahs gots to do what I sayz now.
What, no sombrero??
Would be a good plate for my dog to eat off of.
I, personally, would have much preferred Nelson Shanks, Jiawei Shen, Margaret Sargent, Dean Paules or even Jamie Wyeth (click the underlined links to see their works).
I think Carder is not so much a portraitist as he is an illustrator -- his work lacks depth. My guess is that art isn't something Dubya or Laura is particularly knowledgeable about, so they just relied on the "family painter."
Me either, but you don't have to be Rembrandt to know that painting is awful. Someone in the administration or the family has to have the guts to tell the president to deep six this painting and the painter and start over.
“Know what the difference is between Me and Barack Obama, Mr. President? I don’t think I’m Barack Obama.”
Thank you. I agree entirely. My choice would have been John Howard Sanden, who captures expression and character with such subtlety. For instance: Isaac Stern Look at the other portraits on his site, including John Ashcroft. He brings out the warmth in the subject.
Wow, thank you, excellent portraits!
Isn’t it amazing what some of these portrait artists can do? Just breathtaking, some of them.
And of course, some are hideous.
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