Former President George W. Bush is set to share his paintings with the world.
The 43rd U.S. president, who has taken up painting since leaving the Oval Office, will unveil more than two dozen portraits of world leaders Friday in an exhibit at his presidential library in Dallas, Texas.
Bush sounds excited to show off his work.
“I think they’re going to be: ‘Wow, George Bush is a painter,’” Bush said during an interview with his daughter, Jenna Bush Hager, a special correspondent for NBC’s TODAY Show. “I hope they take it in the spirit in which these were painted, that was the spirit of friendship, that I admire them as leaders, and was willing to give it a shot in terms of getting people to see how I felt about them.”
The portraits serve as illustrations of Bush’s relationships with various world leaders during his two terms as commander-in-chief of the United States, according to a statement issued by the library.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Dalai Lama are among the world leaders Bush painted.
A couple of Bush’s paintings were revealed a year ago when a hacker broke into Bush family email accounts. “Guccifer,” the hacker who released the paintings, was arrested in Romania earlier this year.
Michele Richinick