Hackers Find Paintings by George W. Bush? HuffPost Throws In Hitler Comparisons

February 9th, 2013 10:34 AM

Hackers dug into the Bush family's private e-mails and sent out images of paintings by former president George W. Bush. As if that wasn't offensive enough, The Huffington Post went looking for the most dastardly comparisons: "Jack Fischer, who has an eponymous gallery in San Francisco, compared the interest in the Bush paintings to Adolf Hitler's work in art school, while making it clear that he was only comparing the two artistically, not historically."

"What immediately comes to mind is Hitler's paintings and the immediate brouhaha that that caused," Fischer said. "There's this peculiar sort of interest in a famous figure having painted." At The New York Times, art blogger Roberta Smith offered a leftist take, but it seemed gentle after the HuffPost blast:

The two paintings could be said to depict the introverted self-absorption for which Mr. Bush is known. Perhaps, he is trying to cleanse himself in a more metaphorical way, seeking a kind of redemption from his less fortuitous decisions as president.

Bush's apparent paintings portray him in from behind in the shower and portray his feet at the other end of the bathtub. In a HuffPost Live segment pinned to the Hitler article, a commenter added, “We should be glad he’s not Instagram-ing himself in the bathroom. I’m surprised no one’s said he’s a better painter than he was a president.”

(HT: Dan Gainor)