George W. Bush Used Wikipedia to Copy Portaits of World Leaders

Former president George W. Bush‘s current art exhibition at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas has received mixed reviews from critics. Whether you like the work or not, it’s become clear that his paintings of major world leaders have been copied from photos found on Wikipedia and though Google image searches.

Rather than drawing from his own personal photography archives, which doubtless contain many images of the politicians represented in “The Art of Leadership: A President’s Diplomacy,” Bush has worked from Google search results, selecting readily available, straightforward shots on which to base his portraits.

In the case of far-flung global politicians such as Vladimir Putin, it would seem unreasonable to expect Bush to arrange for an in-person seating, but even his portrait of his aging father appears to be taken directly from the internet.

Bush’s choice of source material was first noticed by blogger Greg Allen, and has since been noted by other news outlets such as the Guardian.