Free Republic

President Donald Trump‘s second Oval Office got its big debut Monday, including the return of an Andrew Jackson portrait and the reemergence of the Reagan rug. The rug, which was in place during Ronald Reagan’s administration and during Trump’s first term, was reinstalled during Trump’s inauguration ceremony, according to CBS News. The Resolute Desk had to be partially disassembled in order to facilitate its return. The Andrew Jackson portrait has drawn controversy because Jackson, the nation’s seventh president, signed the Indian Removal Act, resulting in the Trail of Tears, and remains a polarizing figure almost 180 years after his death....

A portrait of former top US military officer Mark Milley — a foe of Donald Trump — has been taken down at the Pentagon, a source in the building said following the president’s inauguration on Monday. Retired chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are traditionally honored with portraits that hang in a corridor near the Pentagon’s River Entrance, and Milley’s had only recently been unveiled at a ceremony earlier this month. But the source said the retired general’s portrait was removed, referring questions about why to the White House. The removal of the painting — the current whereabouts of...

Tech billionaires, corporate chieftains and stars such as Carrie Underwood are flocking to Washington to fete Donald J. Trump. There has been such a stampede of big-money donors that his inaugural committee has run out of V.I.P. tickets and perks. And yet here is the president-elect, positively glaring in the official photograph his aides released on Thursday in advance of his inauguration. The image, which will be printed inside the programs his supporters will clutch in their shivering hands come Monday morning, does not exactly scream celebration. Mr. Trump is shown sternly squinting, bathed in eerie, David Lynchian lighting...

The official inaugural portrait of President-elect Donald Trump has been released, just days before his swearing-in as the 47th President of the United States. A portrait of Vice President-elect JD Vance was also released on social media. Both leaders are set to take office on January 20, 2025, marking a historic return for Trump to the presidency. Captured by chief photographer Daniel Torok, Trump’s official portrait radiates confidence and readiness, showcasing him in a dignified and commanding pose.

Artist Scott LoBaido wowed the crowd of approximately 18,000 people at a Donald Trump campaign rally in Long Island Wednesday night, generating a compelling portrait of the former president in just over three minutes as thunderous music played.Wait till the end:🚨Artist and Free Speech activist @ScottLoBaido paints #Live at the NY Trump Rally in Nassau pic.twitter.com/74Uq6rFq4k— Mark Naughton (@MarkNaughton9) September 18, 2024Now, it looked to me like the black and white part depicting Trump himself had been painted earlier, and LoBaido unveiled it by pulling off some sort of plastic. That didn't ruin it for me, though, because it took...

Seán Ono Lennon @seanonolennon I just wish I could have listened in on the meeting… ‘Your Highness, it would seem the people have begun to grow weary and possibly suspicious of the institution of the monarchy.’ ‘Well what are we going to do about it?’ ‘One idea is to have your portrait painted as an ancient hell demon emerging from a sort of murky lake of blood, ready to claim rule over the people of light, dragging them into the shadow realms for all eternity.’ ‘Terrific idea! I’ll get my fancy red coat!’ 5:09 PM · May 15, 2024 ·...

Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who served during the Obama administration, watched Tuesday as her official portrait was unveiled at the State Department, calling it an "incredibly emotional moment." "Looking out and seeing so many of you whom I was privileged to serve over my four years," Clinton said before the portrait, painted by Steven Polson, was unveiled. "Now, 14 years ago, hard to believe, I knew there was something very special about this place and that having the singular honor of leading the State Department and USA ID would be an incredible, both personal...

Unveiling of an early 17th-century painting has caused a stir—but what does the evidence say?The unveiling and proposed £10m sale of an early 17th century portrait, reputedly of William Shakespeare, has caused a stir. The attribution is being debated, but what does the evidence show? The inner frame of the 20 x 18 inch portrait includes the title Shakespeare, but this is an 18th- or19th-century addition, when the painting was relined. The figure portrayed is a bearded, balding man in shirt and doublet, with the top left and right of the canvas helpfully inscribed 1608 and AE (aged) 44...

Former first lady Michelle Obama indicated Wednesday that as a black woman, she was never meant to serve as first lady of the United States of America. “A girl like me, she was never supposed to be up there next to Jaqueline Kennedy and Dolly Madison,” she said. “She was never supposed to live in this house and she definitely wasn’t supposed to serve as first lady.” The former first lady spoke as she joined her husband, President Barack Obama, to unveil their official portraits at the White House on Wednesday. She said she often wondered about who was responsible...

The removal of a portrait of Winston Churchill from the New Zealand parliament building has sparked fury with opposition leader Judith Collins saying she was “disgusted” by the move – but prime minister Jacinda Ardern insisted she “didn’t care”. Collins, who leads the National Party in New Zealand tweeted an image of Britain’s wartime leader being pulled from its position, reportedly called for by the parliament’s Art Committee, chaired by Green MP Dr Elizabeth Kerekere. “Sir Winston Churchill, the greatest anti-fascist leader of the 20th century is removed from the walls of Parliament because the Greens don’t like him,” tweeted...

The portrait of Emmanuel Macron was trampled before being torn and then thrown out the window on Saturday in #Poitiers where the demonstrators invaded the Town Hall https://twitter.com/AnonymeCitoyen/status/1419660390624018432

The National Portrait Gallery reopened with an addition to its famed exhibition of presidential portraits. Joining the likes of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, was Donald Trump, scowling from behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. Trump looks “pallid and grim” in the photograph, said Paul Staiti, expert on presidential portraits who teaches at Mount Holyoke College. Trump was impeached twice. His refusal to concede the election of Nov. 3, 2020, led a mob of his supporters to storm and vandalize the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. The Trump photograph is displayed across the room from a portrait of...

Ruth Bader Ginsburg tampon portrait at Hotel Zena (Instagram screenshot @HotelZena) A new hotel on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., apparently hopes to somehow turn a profit by catering to embittered third-wave feminists and the self-hating men who enable their fits and endure their incessant complaining. According to a press release, Hotel Zena, which opened on October 8, offers “a bold new cultural hub celebrating the accomplishments of women and recognizing their enduring struggle for gender equality.”The “thoughtfully designed and curated” hotel exists “to send a message of female empowerment.” The artwork in the building works to “create a message...

The traditional White House portrait unveiling may be skipped for the first time in decades amid bad blood between Trump and Obama. WASHINGTON — It’s been a White House tradition for decades: A first-term president hosts a ceremony in the East Room for the unveiling of the official portrait of his immediate predecessor that will hang in the halls of the White House for posterity. Republican presidents have done it for Democratic presidents, and vice versa — even when one of them ascended to the White House by defeating or sharply criticizing the other. “We may have our differences politically,”...

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) during his press briefing on Wednesday revealed a collage of face masks that people from all over the country have sent to his office amid the coronavirus pandemic. "This is a self-portrait of America," Cuomo said pointing to the wall of masks. "You what know it spells? It spells love." The governor, who has gained national attention for his nearly-daily press briefings on the pandemic, said his office has received thousands of masks and personal notes from people across the country as a show of support. The Empire State has been the state hardest...

Today’s Campaign Update, Part II (Because The Campaign Never Ends) What, you expected anything else after all this time? Courtesy of the UK Daily Mail: The color of the dress seemed to be a pointed reference to Clinton's former intern Monica Lewinsky who a blue dress during their infamous sexual encounter in the White House. The painting seemed to show Clinton in the Oval Office, with the presidential seal on display You just cannot make this stuff up, folks. From the article linked above: Jeffrey Epstein had a bizarre portrait which appears to be of Bill Clinton hanging in his...

Was the presidential portrait of Barack Obama made in China? Sources say artist Kehinde Wiley — who painted the former president before a background of greenery and flowers — has studios in China and produces most of his work there. “It’s his base of operation,” said art critic Charlie Finch, who has known Wiley and appreciated his talent since they were students at Yale. “He has dozens of assistants working for him.” While Obama sat for Wiley for several hours, the portrait may have been sent to China to be completed. “Normally, Wiley sketches out the important parts, and assistants...

Full title of article: A Racist Con-Man: Obama’s Portrait Artist, Who Hires Cheap Chinese Labor To Paint “His” Work, Says “Kill Whitey” Is A Major Theme Since Obama’s portrait was unveiled, I’ve received a flurry of text messages from outraged artist friends I made while living in New York. No, they weren’t outraged because they saw Kehinde Wiley’s other painting that feature black women murdering white women. They were outraged because Kehinde Wiley is a terrible artist who only rose to prominence, something they have been attempting to do their entire lives, in the art world because he is a...

Sean Hannity and other right-wing conservatives are calling out President Barack Obama‘s presidential portrait, accusing the painting of having hidden perversion. In a blog post published on Tuesday and subsequently deleted, the Fox News anchor’s staff reports that “industry insiders” believe Kehinde Wiley secretly placed concealed images of sperm throughout his painting. “Controversy surrounding Kehinde Wiley’s wildly non-traditional portrait of the Commander-in-Chief broke out within minutes of its unveiling; with industry insiders claiming the artist secretly inserted his trademark technique -concealing images of sperm within his paintings,” the post reads. Hannity’s blog post also brings up comments Wiley made in...

I did a slight adjustment to Baracks new "portrait"....(or maybe, "POTrait") to make the "garden setting" a little more appropriate for him.