Jon Austin McNaughton is an American artist and Republican. He is known for his paintings depicting American conservative political figures, in particular prominent

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, and Christian imagery. He began his style of political painting during the

Barack Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...

, creating works in support of the

Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2007, catapulted into the mainstream by Congressman Ron Paul's presidential campaign. The movement expanded in resp ...

. He subsequently became a supporter of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

Career

McNaughton is from

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...

, and studied art at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

. After graduating, he worked in finance for eight years, planning on saving up money before working in art full time. His early work mainly dealt with landscapes, and religious and Mormon-related subjects, which over time moved towards right-wing politics. He painted his first political artworks during the

2008 US presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from Delaware, defeated the Republican ticket of John Mc ...

, and then came to prominence in 2009 during the Obama presidency, when he started painting more conservative-leaning political scenes. In 2012,

Rachel Maddow Rachel Anne Maddow ( ; born April 1, 1973) is an American television news program host and liberal political commentator. She hosts '' The Rachel Maddow Show'', a weekly television show on MSNBC, and serves as the cable network's special event ...

's blog used his work '' The Forgotten Man'' as a

caption contest A caption contest or caption competition is a competition between multiple participants, who are required to give the best description for a certain image offered by the contest organizer. Rules and information about the competition process are als ...

, which led to an increase in sales for McNaughton.

Reception

His work has been described as " Christian nationalist" by Andrew Seidel of the

Freedom From Religion Foundation The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for atheism, atheists, agnosticism, agnostics, and nontheism, nontheists. Formed in 1976, FFRF promotes the separation of church and state, and ch ...

, "kitsch realist", and as a middle ground between realism and

impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

. Alissa Wilkinson in '' Vox'' described McNaughton as the "single most famous pro-Trump artist", and Monica Hesse described him as "one of the most significant painters of the current era". Commentators, including Ben Davis and Jennifer Greenhill, professor of art history at

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, have said that his work is primarily designed for "digital consumption", and highlighted the links between his paintings and

internet memes An Internet meme, or meme (, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through social media platforms. Internet memes manifest in a variety of formats, including images, v ...

and

internet culture Internet culture refers to culture developed and maintained among frequent and active users of the Internet (also known as netizens) who primarily communicate with one another as members of online communities; that is, a culture whose influence ...

. His artworks often

go viral Viral phenomena or viral sensations are objects or patterns that are able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them. Analogous to the way in which viruses propagate, the te ...

. Others, such as Greenhill and Andrew O'Hehir in ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

'', have highlighted how McNaughton's knowledge of

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

allows him to use famous historical paintings to complement his messages. Ben Davis has described McNaughton's art as "always ... mediocre", and as "highly functional memes". He further compared McNaughton to religious artist

Harry Anderson Harry Laverne Anderson (October 14, 1952 – April 16, 2018) was an American actor, comedian and magician. He is best known for his role as Judge Harry Stone on the NBC sitcom ''Night Court'' (1984–1992). He later played Dave Barry on the C ...

, and wrote that although many Twitter users think that McNaughton's artwork is to " trigger the libs", McNaughton is trying to represent an honestly held viewpoint by some Trump supporters. McNaughton himself stated that he doesn't intend to "trigger liberals", but rather "to inspire". Steve Rose in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', while describing ''The Forgotten Man'', identified McNaughton's work in the tradition of

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...

. Rose went on to say that McNaughton's art "provokes derision and parody more than outrage". John McDonald in ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'' described McNaughton's work as "pure propaganda", and went on to say that it provokes "similar feeling of self-satisfaction that grips liberal-minded viewers ... looking at a work that celebrates a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

anti-racist Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and delibera ...

position". Pulitzer Prize winning art critic

Jerry Saltz Jerry Saltz (born February 19, 1951, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American art critic. Since 2006, he has been senior art critic and columnist for ''New York magazine, New York'' magazine. Formerly the senior art critic for ''The Village Voice'', ...

described McNaughton's art as “bad academic derivative realism,” and “typical propaganda art, drop-dead obvious in message” which "panders and preaches to the converted and tells them what they already believe."

Personal life

McNaughton is married, a devout member of

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

, and went on a mission for his faith to Japan in his youth. In the

2016 Republican Party presidential primaries Presidential primaries and caucuses of the Republican Party took place within all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories between February 1 and June 7, 2016. These elections selected the 2,472 delegates that we ...

, McNaughton supported

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...

, and following Trump's victory, described himself as a "Trump observer" instead of a supporter.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McNaughton, Jon 21st-century American painters Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Painters from Utah Brigham Young University alumni Latter Day Saints from Utah Latter Day Saint artists Artists from Provo, Utah American political artists American portrait painters American landscape painters

Career

Reception

Personal life

See also

References

External links