The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery unveiled new artwork of former President Donald Trump that will be displayed inside the museum when it reopens in a couple of weeks.
“Installed in the museum’s signature exhibition, ‘America’s Presidents,’ the portrait will hang in a space reserved for the nation’s most recent former president and will be a part of the permanent collections,” The Smithsonian Magazine reported. “The 2019 image of Trump is one of many captured by the award-winning photographer Pari Dukovic, while on assignment for Time magazine. Taken on June 17, after Trump officially announced his plans to run for reelection, the image depicts him perched at the edge of a maroon chair with one hand resting on the historic Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.”
Behind Trump, who is seated behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, are the flags of the then-five branches of the Armed Forces, including the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. Trump later created Space Force, which is now the sixth branch of the Armed Forces.
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) April 26, 2021
“Donald J. Trump was elected president of the United States after tapping into populist American sentiment,” states a summary of Trump’s presidency featured on the wall next to his portrait. “Having led a career in business and television, he created an identity that was anti-traditional government and put for an ‘America First’ agenda. During his tenure, Trump appointed a record number of federal judges, including three Supreme Court Justices. He brokered the Abraham Accords, significantly restricted immigration, and reduced government regulations. In February 2020, the unemployment rate was a record low 3.5 percent.”
The summary also notes that the two Democrat-led attempts to remove him from officer both failed after he was acquitted by the U.S. Senate. The summary also notes the devastating impact that the pandemic had on the country and how it uprooted the U.S. political scene.
The Smithsonian Magazine added:
“America’s Presidents” is home to the nation’s only complete collection of presidential portraits outside the White House, telling the story of American leadership and the challenges of office, highlighting historical eras from “Building the Presidency” to the “Contemporary Presidency.” Holding pride of place in the exhibition is the iconic Lansdowne Portrait of George Washington by the American artist Gilbert Stuart. Other prominent works include Elaine de Kooning’s portrait of John F. Kennedy, Norman Rockwell’s painting of Richard Nixon and Chuck Close’ quilt-like portrayal of Bill Clinton, an abstract painting that uses a grid system of visual images.
The museum adds new presidential portraits to its permanent exhibition with each new U.S. president.
“There’s always a sense of transition when we install a new presidential portrait,” Dorothy Moss, the gallery’s curator of painting and sculpture, said. “We are a museum that reflects art history and biography, and we are able to celebrate the presidents with portraits that are historical documents.”