Painting of Donald Trump ‘Crossing the Swamp’ makes a splash on social media
Piece shows president and some of his close aides and family members struggling to cross an alligator-filled marsh in Washington in a rowing boat
A lot of amateur art critics have weighed in on a new painting of President Donald Trump fearlessly fording a Washington swamp since the artist unveiled the work on social media on Tuesday.
In his new work, Crossing the Swamp, Utah-based artist Jon McNaughton pays homage to Emanuel Leutze’s iconic 1851 painting, Washington Crossing the Delaware.
In that work, George Washington stands near the bow of a rowing boat as his crew fights to cross the icy Delaware River in a surprise Christmas morning attack.
Trump takes Washington’s place in McNaughton’s painting. He holds a similar pose but in place of a Continental Army uniform, Trump wears a tie and trousers with presidential bomber jacket and baseball cap. And unlike Washington, Trump holds a lantern aloft to light the way.
His crew is composed of various members of the administration, as well as family members Melania and Ivanka Trump. They are clad in camouflage and at least four are carrying long guns.
While in Leutze’s work the Delaware River is full of ice, the danger in McNaughton’s painting is a murky marsh full of alligators.
The US Capitol stands off in the distance, beyond the dismal swamp.
In addition to the Trumps, those on board are United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, Secretary of Defence James Mattis, HUD chief Ben Carson, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, spokeswoman Sarah Sanders, National security adviser John Bolton, adviser Kellyanne Conway and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.
McNaughton said on his website that he hopes Trump “will be remembered as the president that restored America’s greatness”.
“I want to be on that boat for freedom!” he said.
The painting got a strong reaction on social media, including a number of mocking parodies.
