Donald Trump
“I Painted You Exactly As You Are!”
Colorado Portrait Artist Says Trump’s Criticism Is Hurting Her Career
The artist behind Donald Trump’s official portrait in the Colorado State Capitol is speaking out, pushing back against the former president’s claims that she distorted his image for political reasons. She insists that’s simply not true—and says his public remarks are damaging her livelihood.
Sarah A. Boardman, who painted the now-controversial portrait of Trump that once hung in the Capitol’s rotunda, released a statement Saturday in response to Trump’s online attack. The former president previously claimed the artist had “lost her talent as she got older.”
Boardman says she was commissioned by the Colorado State Capitol Advisory Committee in Denver to paint the portrait, and throughout the process, she provided progress photos that were reviewed and approved—right up to the final version.
According to Boardman, the portrait hung for six years and was well-received by many visitors, until Trump criticized it on his Truth Social platform.
She strongly denies injecting any political bias into her work and says she never intended to caricature the former president in any way.
“President Trump has every right to share his opinion, as we all do,” she said. “But his claims that I intentionally distorted the portrait and have ‘lost my talent’ are now directly affecting my business—one I’ve worked hard to build for over 41 years. It may not recover from this.”
Following the backlash, Trump said he’d rather have no portrait at all than Boardman’s artwork remaining in the rotunda. In the wake of the controversy, Colorado officials removed the painting last month.
We’ve reached out to Trump’s team for a response to Boardman’s statement, but have not yet heard back.
