DENVER — April 8, 2025
Renowned portrait artist Sarah Boardman has spoken out after former President Donald Trump publicly derided her painted portrait of him, which once hung in the Colorado State Capitol. Boardman says Trump’s comments have caused lasting damage to her career and reputation, and that her livelihood—built over more than four decades—is now at risk.
Trump lashed out at the portrait last month in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, calling the image “purposefully distorted” and “truly the worst.” While offering praise for Boardman’s earlier portrait of President Barack Obama, he mocked her abilities, writing, “She must have lost her talent as she got older. I would much prefer not having a picture than having this one.”
Shortly after the post went viral, Colorado Republicans moved swiftly to have the portrait removed from the Capitol rotunda, where it had hung since 2019 alongside Boardman’s Obama painting and others of past U.S. presidents.
In a statement posted to her website over the weekend, Boardman said Trump’s public dismissal has not only impugned her “intentions, integrity, and abilities,” but also caused tangible harm to her business.
“The overwhelmingly positive feedback the Trump portrait received over the past six years has now been replaced with unjustified hostility and a direct impact on my ability to secure commissions,” she wrote. “My business of over 41 years is in danger of not recovering.”
Boardman, who is based in Colorado Springs, studied in Germany through an apprenticeship in Old Masters techniques, emulating the styles of classical painters like Rembrandt. Her portfolio includes portraits of President George W. Bush, U.S. military figures, and even “wonderfully ordinary people,” according to her biography.
Though Boardman did not specify the extent of the professional fallout, she suggested that Trump’s remarks and the subsequent removal of her work from a public institution have jeopardized future commissions.
Portrait Politics
The portrait of Trump was originally funded through $11,000 in donations raised by Colorado Republicans, according to Colorado Public Radio. Its removal, requested by State Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, was justified on the basis of updating it with a “contemporary likeness.” Lundeen cited the precedent of Grover Cleveland, the only president to serve non-consecutive terms, whose official portrait in the Capitol represents only his second administration.
Boardman maintains that the original painting of Trump was created without political bias or intention to mock. “There was no distortion, no caricature. Just an honest rendering of the man as I saw him,” she wrote.
Presidential Portrait Controversies: A Tradition of Discontent
Trump is far from the first president to voice disapproval over a painted likeness. Theodore Roosevelt famously disliked his 1902 portrait by French artist Théobald Chartran, with his family referring to the meek portrayal as the “mewing cat.” Roosevelt had it removed and commissioned another.
Lyndon B. Johnson dismissed his own official portrait as “the ugliest thing I ever saw,” while Richard Nixon quietly replaced a painting he disliked with one by James Anthony Wills—better known for portraying Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Still, Trump’s very public denunciation stands apart for its tone and timing, arriving years after the work was completed and displayed in a nonpartisan context.
Uncertain Future
Boardman’s fate remains unclear. She has not indicated whether legal or formal complaints will follow the removal of the portrait or the impact on her business. But she is unequivocal about the personal toll.
“This has never been about politics,” she said. “It’s about an artist’s reputation, built over a lifetime, being reduced by a few careless words.”
