Text of First Statement By Artist Whose Trump Portrait Was Trashed by the Prez As 'Purposefully Distorted'

After being silent for weeks, Sarah A. Boardman, whose portrait of President Donald Trump was placed in the Colorado Capitol in 2019, only to be trashed six years later by Trump as “purposefully distorted to a level that even I, perhaps, have never seen before,” released a response to Trump today.

In her statement, Boardman wrote that Trump was flat-out wrong. She “completed the portrait accurately, without ‘purposeful distortion,’ political bias, or any attempt to caricature the subject, actual or implied,” she wrote.

She added that, as a result of Trump’s attack on her work, her business of 41 years is “in danger of not recovering.”

Here’s the text of Sarah Boardman’s statement, released today:

“Thank you for your enquiries. This statement is sent to all news outlets who requested a response. I refer to President Trump’s post on Truth Social in which my intentions, integrity, and abilities were, in my opinion, called into question

“As a professional artist, the Colorado State Capitol Advisory Committee, Denver, commissioned me to paint the official portrait of President Trump for the Denver State Capitol Gallery of Presidents. The reference photograph and my subsequent ‘works in progress’ were all approved, throughout that process, by that committee.

“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.

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

“President Trump is entitled to comment freely, as we all are, but the additional allegations that I ‘purposefully distorted’ the portrait, and that I ‘must have lost my talent as I got older’ are now directly and negatively impacting my business of over 41 years which now is in danger of not recovering.

“I will not be commenting further.