Trump’s Republican Club painting and what it means
You don’t need a degree in art history or even a half-decent eye to know that the painting, recently discovered to be hanging on a wall in the White House, is one hell of a piece of art.
The image shows Trump, centre-stage, at an imagined drinks table. He is surrounded on all sides by previous Republican presidents, some dead, some living, all laughing and sharing a drink. Trump’s immaculate white shirt makes him the focus of the painting, whilst others, like a good-humoured Gerald Ford or a happy-to-be-here HW Bush, recline in the background. Others look on with a hint of envy at the proceedings at the table.
The artist, Andy Thomas, is based in Carthage, Missouri, and his painting found its way into the White House courtesy of a California congressmen, Darrell Issa. Thomas’s work focuses on the American Civil War and the history of the Presidency, and the painting that now hangs in Trump’s White House — ‘The Republican Club’ — is part of a series that includes ‘The Democratic Club’, as well as twin paintings depicting the Republican and Democrat presidents playing pool, and a further pair at the poker table.
