DENVER (KKTV/Gray News) – Following his complaints, a portrait of President Donald Trump in the Colorado State Capitol has been replaced with a new one.
The president complained about the initial portrait by artist Sarah Boardman in a social media post back in March, saying it was “distorted.”
“The artist also did President Obama, and he looks wonderful, but the one on me is truly the worst. She must have lost her talent as she got older,” Trump wrote.
The president also said he would “much prefer not having a picture than having this one.”
House Democrats said in a statement to The Associated Press that the oil painting would be taken down at the request of Republican leaders in the Legislature.
“If the GOP wants to spend time and money on which portrait of Trump hangs in the Capitol, then that’s up to them,” the Democrats said.
The new portrait was unveiled this week and was painted by Arizona-based Christian artist Vanessa Horabuena.
In a statement to KKTV on Monday, the Capitol Building Advisory Committee said:
“At the request of the leadership of the General Assembly, the portrait of President Trump that is part of the third-floor gallery collection of presidential portraits was removed in April 2025. The Executive Office of the President recently provided Colorado with a new portrait of the current president by Vanessa Horabuena of Tempe, Arizona. The Capitol Building Advisory Committee has agreed to temporarily display this donated portrait and will consider the disposition of the full presidential portrait collection at a future meeting. The new portrait is installed in the third-floor gallery of the Colorado Capitol.”
Trump also accused Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, of “purposefully” distorting the original painting and called on him to take it down.
Polis, however, was not behind the painting. It was commissioned in 2018 before Polis took office.
The first portrait was commissioned by Colorado Republicans. Kevin Grantham, a Republican who served as president of the Colorado Senate, raised more than $10,000 through GoFundMe for the painting, according to the Independent.
It was unveiled in August 2019 during Trump’s first presidential term.
Back in March, a spokesperson for Polis told KKTV in a statement:
“Gov. Polis was surprised to learn the President of the United States is an aficionado of our Colorado State Capitol and its artwork. The State Capitol was completed in 1901, and features Rose Onyx and White Yule Marble mined in Colorado, and includes portraits of former Presidents and former governors. We appreciate the President and everyone’s interest in our capitol building and are always looking for any opportunity to improve our visitor experience.”
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Trump portrait he claimed was ‘distorted’ is replaced with new one in state capitol – KCBD
