George W. Bush’s paintings could get their biggest audience yet at Disney World

President George W. Bush painting.

President George W. Bush once painted in secret. But starting next month, Bush’s paintings will get its biggest audience yet — seen by millions of people at Disney World.

After he left office in 2009, Bush picked up a brush, discovering a new hobby taken up by many wartime leaders like Winston Churchill and Dwight Eisenhower. Bush wanted to discover his “inner Rembrandt,” he said.

Bush painted portraits of veterans that were personal. They were all people he knew.

Bush’s pastime was revealed publicly following an email hack. He published a book of his work in 2017. The paintings were showcased at the Lincoln Center and traveled around to venues across the country.

Now, Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief’s Tribute to America’s Warriors — a collection of nearly 100 paintings — will be on display at Epcot’s American Adventure Pavilion for a year beginning June 9. 

“Celebrating those who give so much to our country has been part of the fabric of The Walt Disney Company throughout our 100-year history,” said Josh D’Amaro, who leads the Disney theme parks division. “We’re grateful to the Bush Institute for allowing us to feature this special collection and share it with our guests.”

Alongside the oil paintings of veterans are their stories written by Bush, who was not available for an interview for this story.

“As our 43rd, President, our post 911, Commander in Chief, really, I think it’s special to him to be able to tell and share people’s stories of resilience in service to country,” said Jason Galui, Director of Veteran and Military Families at the George W. Bush Institute, a think tank focused on veterans’ issues.

“This is a heartfelt tribute by President Bush, and it draws attention to the challenges that veterans and military families face.”

The exhibit includes resources to help veterans, such as Check-In, which connects military service people with resources within 48 hours if they are struggling with their mental health.

Bush and Disney have worked together before.

Bush was the honorary Chair at Prince Harry’s Invictus Games for wounded veterans in 2016 at Walt Disney World’s ESPN Wide World of Sports. He also appeared, as an animatronic, in Magic Kingdom’s Hall of Presidents.

Will Bush attend his own exhibit at Epcot?

Not likely.

Galui said Bush has no current plans to travel to Orlando and won’t be at the June 9 grand opening ceremony.

Bush’s paintings at Disney makes sense when you look past the roller coasters, turkey legs and souvenir shops. Disney plays a role in American culture and how we view ourselves, Smithsonian museum specialist Bethanee Bemis told Florida Politics last year.

And Disney’s ties to the White House also run deep.

Many Presidents have visited Disney parks or gave speeches with the castle backdrop behind them. Even President Richard Nixon was eager to vacation at The Mouse and talked about Disney more than 50 times on his infamous Nixon Tapes.

Disney has long supported veteran causes. At the Magic Kingdom, the park honors a veteran every day at a flag ceremony, a tradition since the park opened in 1971. Even when Disney World shut down to the public during the pandemic, the small number of employees guarding the park kept the ceremony going.