‘Tribute to America’s Warriors’: Portraits of post-9/11 veterans painted by George W. Bush on display

WASHINGTON - A collection of art featuring the portraits of men and women who served the United States armed forces in a post 9/11 world will be on display at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., this month through Nov. 15, 2019, by a veteran himself, Former president, George W. Bush. 

The collection, titled “Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief’s Tribute to America’s Warriors” features a two-minute video by the 43rd president reflecting on his painting history, and why he has used his art to draw attention to helping post-9/11 veterans. 

The collection, titled “Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief’s Tribute to America’s Warriors” features portraits of men and women who served the United States Armed Forces in a post-Sept. 11, 2001 world. (George W. Bush Presidential Center.)

In a video on the Center’s website, Bush says he was inspired by his art instructor to “paint the portraits of people that nobody knows.”

“Pretty quickly it dawned on me that painting the wounded warriors would be an interesting project,” said Bush. 

According to the Center, the portraits focus the stories of just some of the millions of veterans who President Bush says he has come to know personally.

The exhibit features stories of each veteran who’s portrait is on display as well as an in-depth look into “the impacts of the wounds of war—both visible and invisible.”

“I wanted to honor them, I wanted to talk about their sacrifice to the country, and I wanted to remind the American people of what a tremendous national asset they were in the military, and will be for the future of the company,” said Bush.