Trump cheers new portrait hanging in Colorado Capitol after he ripped into artist for 'unflattering' first try
Trump's view of the new one was considerably more positive, gushing about the artist after he found a previous version 'unflattering.'
'Thank you to the Highly Talented Artist, Vanessa Horabuena, and the incredible people of Colorado — Now on display in the Colorado State Capitol!' Trump posted on his Truth Social site, along with the image of the new portrait.
The new rendering, donated by the White House, shows a bronzed Trump staring dead ahead, and bears a resemblance to the recent official Trump portraits the president has installed at the White House.
They bear a resemblance to his infamous mugshot, taken when he was processed in Georgia during one of his four criminal trials during the 2020 campaign.
Trump also appears considerably slimmer than in the earlier portrait, which was the subject of a furious post.
'Nobody likes a bad picture or painting of themselves, but the one in Colorado, in the State Capitol, put up by the Governor, along with all other Presidents, was purposefully distorted to a level that even I, perhaps, have never seen before,' Trump raged. 'I would much prefer not having a picture than having this one.'
He also called the earlier painting by Sarah Boardman 'truly the worst.'
The state's Republican leadership quickly had the portrait taken down, the Daily Mail reported in March. But the drawing had been funded by a state Republican official, not the Democratic governor.
In June the White House unveiled a new official photo portrait of Trump that showed heavy indications of photo-shop.
Horabuena's website describes her as a 'Christian Worship Artist' and features other large portraits of Trump.
The artist defended it at the time as a neutral take that was not meant to be confrontational.
Also hanging in the White House is a portrait of a bloodied Trump making a fist after the attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The new portrait by Tempe, Arizona, artist Horabuena is a sterner, crisper image than Sarah Boardman's painting of Trump that had hung since 2019.
Last spring, Trump posted on social media that Boardman 'must have lost her talent as she got older' and 'purposely distorted' him, criticisms the Colorado Springs artist denied.
The next day, lawmakers announced they would remove the portrait from a wall of past presidents. By the day after that, Boardman's painting was gone, put into museum storage.
The Horabuena portrait donated by the White House a month or so ago went up this week after a Thursday decision by Lois Court, a former state lawmaker who chairs the Capitol Building Advisory Committee that helps select artwork for the Capitol in downtown Denver.
'There was a blank on the wall. It seemed inappropriate. We knew that the White House had sent us this replacement and it simply made sense to put it up,' Court said.
Trump's portrait hangs in federal buildings around the country and in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building
The White House donated the Horabuena portrait a month or so ago, said Court.
Horabuena is a 'Christian worship artist' who has done several other depictions of Trump as well as Abraham Lincoln, Mount Rushmore and Jesus Christ, according to her website.
On Tuesday, the Colorado statehouse was sleepy with lawmakers out of session and no schoolchildren visiting the historic building. A smattering of tourists took photos of the new portrait.
Horabuena did not return a phone message Tuesday seeking comment.
The portrait and others of past presidents might not remain up for long. The advisory committee is considering whether to replace them with portraits of past governors to mark the 150th anniversary of Colorado statehood next year.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the White House for additional information about the cost and payment for the portrait.
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