''Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief's Tribute to America's Warriors'' is a book published in 2017 that includes a collection of oil paintings and stories about military veterans by former U.S. President George W. Bush.

History

Bush's painting started as a post-presidency pastime. He created a set of paintings in the evenings as a way to commemorate some of the veterans he has met since leaving office in 2009. This book is his first art book. The foreword was written by former First Lady Laura Bush and by General

Peter Pace Peter Pace (born November 5, 1945) is a retired United States Marine Corps general who served as the 16th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Pace was the first Marine officer appointed as chairman and the first Marine officer to be appointed ...

, 16th Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. It contains sixty-six full-color portraits and a four-panel mural based on photographs of ninety-eight physically and/or mentally wounded U.S. Armed Forces veterans (

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

) of the

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

wars as painted by President Bush. Bush wrote the descriptive prose that accompanies each painting. Bush donated his share of the proceeds from the book to the non-profit

George W. Bush Presidential Center The George W. Bush Presidential Center, which opened on April 25, 2013, is a complex that includes former United States President George W. Bush's presidential library and museum, the George W. Bush Policy Institute, and the offices of the Geor ...

. The book is available as a hardcover and in a limited edition signed by Bush, a deluxe oversized cloth-bound book with a specially designed slipcover.BushCenter: Portraits of Courage - Experience the Exhibit
/ref> An audio CD read by President Bush was also released. The oil paintings portraying Sergeant First Class Ramon Padilla, Sergeant Daniel Casara, Lance Corporal Timothy John Lang, Sergeant First Class Michael R. Rodriguez, Sergeant Leslie Zimmerman, Sergeant Michael Joseph Leonard Politowicz and Lieutenant Colonel Kent Graham Solheim appear on the cover of the book (left to right, top to bottom). An exhibition of the portraits ran from March 2 to October 17, 2017 at the

George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum The George W. Bush Presidential Center, which opened on April 25, 2013, is a complex that includes former United States President George W. Bush's presidential library and museum, the George W. Bush Policy Institute, and the offices of the Geor ...

References

External links

George W. Bush Books website
{{George W. Bush 2017 non-fiction books American non-fiction books Books about military personnel Books about visual art Books by George W. Bush Works about American military personnel Works about painting English-language books Crown Publishing Group books Books written by presidents of the United States

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links