Donald Trump’s social media outburst may end veteran artist's 41-year career

US President Donald Trump's full-blown outburst over his Colorado State Capitol portrait, which he said was “truly the worst”, could cost a veteran artist her 41-year career.

British-born artist Sarah Boardman painted the portrait, which had hung in the Denver building for six years before Trump's criticism.

In January this year, Trump said the portrait was “purposefully distorted” on his Truth Social platform, prompting state lawmakers to remove it from the wall.

But for Sarah, it could mean her career would be in tatters.

In a statement on her website issued on Saturday, the artist said her career of 41 years “is in danger of not recovering” from the backlash.

What did Donald Trump say?

Donald Trump, who believed that Sarah Boardman’s painting was his worst picture ever, said he would rather have no portrait at all than it. He then compared it to the “wonderful” portrait of former US President Barack Obama, which hung nearby.

“Nobody likes a bad picture or painting of themselves, but the one in Colorado, in the state Capitol, put up by the Governor, along with all other Presidents, was purposefully distorted to a level that even I, perhaps, have never seen before,” Trump said.

The US president even suggested that Sarah Boardman “must have lost her talent as she got older.”

He also slammed Democratic Governor Jared Polis for allowing the allegedly atrocious artwork to be hung and wrote: “Jared should be ashamed of himself!”

Colorado Republicans raised over $10,000 through a GoFundMe account to commission the oil painting during Trump’s first term in 2019.

However, after Trump's backlash, Colorado Democrats, who are in charge of the legislature, eventually agreed to take the painting down at the request of local Republican leaders.

What did Sarah Boardman say?

In a statement, Sarah Boardman said she had only received “overwhelmingly positive reviews” for her work for the six years Donald Trump's portrait hung in Denver.

“For the 6 years that the portrait hung in the Colorado State Capitol Building Rotunda, I received overwhelmingly positive reviews and feedback,” Boardman said. “Since President Trump’s comments, that has changed for the worst.”

“I completed the portrait accurately, without ‘purposeful distortion,’ political bias, or any attempt to caricature the subject, actual or implied. I fulfilled the task per my contract,” she countered.

Sarah Boardman has also painted the official portraits of US Presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama for the state Capitol.

Calls for Donald Trump's new portrait underway

Colorado Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, a Republican, said the Trump portrait should be replaced with one “that depicts his contemporary likeness.” A new commissioning process has not yet begun.