George W. Bush Paintings in Best-Selling Book Receives Praises From Critics

George W. Bush’s book of paintings entitled “Portraits of Courage” is receiving praises from the nation’s leading art critics. The work of art of the former U.S. president is described as sophisticated and warm. The book was published on February 28 and is presently holding the top spot of The Washington Post’s list of best-sellers.

“Portraits of Courage”, depicts 66 oil paintings of individual portraits of military personnel and veterans and a foldout reproduction of a four-panel mural. The images are mostly made from photographs, which focuses on the face and painted thickly with limited bright palette of colors. Highlights and shadows are particularly emphasized in the portraits. It can be seen that Bush was keen on the eyes and exaggerates on bone structures, according to Washington Post. Most of the paintings show the head and face in full size, seemingly bursting from the frame with genuine presence and expressive energy. Other paintings also feature subjects in motion like Staff Sgt. Scott P. Lilley, who lost a part of his skull in a roadside bomb attack, holding his daughter; and Sgt. Saul Martinez, who lost both legs in Iraq, playing golf.

In this book, Telegraph reported that Bush writes about each of the soldiers he painted. He describes their struggles with grievous war wounds, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and the difficulties of reintegrating into civilian life. He said that he was inspired by the work of Lucian Freud, Wayne Thiebaud, Jamie Wyeth, Ray Turner, Fairfield Porter and Joaquín Sorolla.

Philip Kennicott, the chief art and architecture critic of the Washing Post’s said that the 66 portraits of the former soldiers show Bush’s honing his craft. Kennicott mentioned that for each of the subjects, Bush’s tells their story with “genuine empathy”.

Profits from the book will be donated to a military and veterans’ initiative managed by the George W. Bush Presidential Center.