Former president Bush unleashes his inner Rembrandt

DPA

Los Angeles

Former US president George W Bush revealed some of his paintings of world leaders yesterday during an interview with Jenna Bush Hager, his daughter, on NBC’s Today show.

The paintings are part of this month’s exhibition called “The art of leadership: A president’s personal diplomacy” at the George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas.

The artwork includes portraits of former British prime minister Tony Blair, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and the Dalai Lama.

“I was a little reluctant to put them out because I am not a great artist,” Bush said during the interview.

He also described an interaction he had with his instructor. “She said, ‘What’s your goal?’ and I said, ‘Well, there is a Rembrandt trapped in this body, your job is to unleash him’,” Bush said during the interview.

Bush, who left the White House in 2009, started painting two years ago.