Free Republic

The unveiling of presidents’ official White House portraits by their successor has been a long-held tradition until now. Barack Obama is refusing to participate in the ceremony for the unveiling of his portrait, NBC News has learned. “Republican presidents have done it for Democratic presidents, and vice versa,” noted NBC News. “Even when one of them ascended to the White House by defeating or sharply criticizing the other.” True enough, Barack Obama hosted the ceremony of the unveiling of George W. Bush’s official White House portrait, despite Obama ascending to the office by being a harsh critic of the 43rd...

I don't live in Seattle but my commute to work sometimes has me walking through that city. During the Obama years the lobby of the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building at 915 2nd Ave in Seattle displayed the official portraits of Barack Hussein Obama and Joe Biden. These portraits were clearly visible from the street. The portraits were taken down in January of this year but they have not been replaced with portraits of President Trump and Vice-president Pence. The space where the portraits hung have been left empty. Across the street from this building is a post office building...

Over the weekend, the Philadelphia Inquirer published an interview with a renowned local artist named Nelson Shanks, whose portfolio includes the official painting of Bill Clinton hanging in the National Portrait Gallery. (Sidenote: during my time as a speechwriter for George W. Bush, I learned that 43 loved to open any set of remarks where he was having his portrait unveiled with “Welcome to my hanging.” For some reason, I always found that endearing). Anyway, Shanks, who we can only presume has figured out that publicly slighting a Democratic president is basically the royal road to a Fox News contributor...

RENOWNED Bucks County portrait artist Nelson Shanks has painted everyone from Princess Diana to President Bill Clinton and from Pope John Paul II to Marisa Tomei. He and his wife, Leona, are the founders of Studio Incamminati, an art school on 12th Street near Callowhill. On a recent Friday, as the north light of a chilly afternoon flooded his Andalusia studio, Shanks, 77, chain smoked cigarettes and drank Diet Cokes while painting Gabrielle, a beautiful young belly dancer, on a 7-by-5-foot canvas. Following his 7-hour session with Gabrielle, Shanks spoke with Stephanie Farr about a hidden secret in his portrait...