The painter whose portrait of Donald Trump was removed from the Colorado state capital after the U.S. president branded it “truly the worst” says the criticism has put her four-decade art career at risk. In a statement published to her personal website, portraitist Sarah A. Boardman said Trump’s allegation that she “purposefully distorted” his image was “directly and negatively impacting my business… which now is in danger of not recovering.” Boardman’s painting had hung alongside portraits of other U.S. presidents at the state capital in Denver for almost six years before Trump voiced his displeasure with the artwork on social media last month. The work was subsequently removed at the request of Republicans, including Colorado Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, who said it should be replaced with one depicting Trump’s “contemporary likeness,” the Associated Press reported at the time. In a post published on Truth Social, the US president had written: “Nobody likes a bad picture or painting of themselves, but the one in Colorado, in the state capital … was purposefully distorted to a level that even I, perhaps, have never seen before.” He unfavorably compared the painting to Boardman’s portrait of former president Barack Obama — which hung beside it in the Capitol’s third-floor rotunda — writing it looked “wonderful,” while “the one on me is truly the worst.” Trump also took a personal swipe at British-born Boardman, saying: “She must have lost her talent as she got older.” But Boardman disputed Trump’s allegations, arguing that she had worked “accurately, without ‘purposeful distortion,’ political bias, or any attempt to caricature the subject, actual or implied.” The artist added she had received “overwhelmingly positive reviews and feedback” about the work since it was unveiled in 2019. The Colorado Springs-based artist accused the president of calling her “intentions, integrity and abilities” into question. Boardman has previously completed portraits of Republican president George W. Bush, a district court judge and dozens of U.S. military personnel. The artist did not detail how her practice has been impacted by the controversy, writing that she “will not be commenting further” on the matter. The portrait was commissioned by Colorado Republicans, after they raised more than $10,000 for the project through a GoFundMe campaign. Boardman had earlier defended the work from criticism of a very different kind — that Trump’s expression, which she described in the Colorado Times Recorder as “serious, non-confrontational (and) thoughtful,” did not reflect the president’s temperament. “My choice of references comes from my decision to remain neutral, and let the criticisms stand on their own throughout time,” she told the newspaper in 2019, referring to the photograph on which her painting was based. “The portrait is not designed for just one faction of the population.” In a statement shared with the Associated Press last month, Colorado House Democrats said: “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 year before Boardman’s portrait was unveiled, a prankster hung a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin near the space set aside for Trump at the Colorado state Capitol. It was discovered by a tour guide and quickly removed by Capitol staff. By Oscar Holland, CNN
