Twenty-five years after the terrorist attacks that defined his presidency, George W. Bush is revisiting the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, through paintings.
Bush has created a new series commemorating 9/11, depicting scenes and people connected to the attacks and their aftermath. The collection, “Remembering 9/11,” is on display at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas through the end of September.
For Bush, the memories of that morning are particularly vivid.
He was visiting Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida, where he was reading “The Pet Goat” to a classroom of second graders, when then-White House chief of staff Andrew Card leaned over and whispered to him: “A second plane hit the second tower. America is under attack.”
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The moment was captured in photographs that became some of the defining images of the day. Bush remained seated for several moments before leaving the classroom and beginning to respond to the attacks. He would eventually address the nation, be moved to several secure locations and return to Washington that evening.
The attacks ultimately shaped Bush’s presidency, leading to the war in Afghanistan, the invasion of Iraq and a sweeping expansion of the U.S. government’s counterterrorism policies.
But in retirement, Bush has increasingly revisited the people affected by those wars through a different medium — painting.
Bush took up painting after leaving the White House in 2009, inspired in part by Winston Churchill’s essay “Painting as a Pastime.” What began as a hobby became a significant part of his post-presidential life. He has painted portraits of veterans, immigrants, world leaders, family members, pets and himself.
His 2017 book, “Portraits of Courage,” featured paintings and stories of wounded U.S. service members who served in the wars that began during his presidency. Bush has said the project was intended to highlight the sacrifices and resilience of veterans.
Now, his paintings are bringing him back to the event that changed the course of his presidency — and the country.
The new collection focuses on the courage, sacrifice and resilience that emerged from 9/11, according to the Bush Center.
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