Bill Clinton To George Bush: I Considered Asking For A Portrait Until I Saw The Bathroom Paintings

WATCH: Why Bill Clinton Decided Against A Portrait By George Bush

Former President Bill Clinton, speaking at the George W. Bush Presidential Center dedication on Thursday, said that he had considered asking his successor to paint a picture of him, but joked that he backed off after he saw the hacked self-portraits of Bush nude in the bathroom.

"I probably shouldn't say this, but I'm going to anyway," Clinton said at the ceremony on Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas. "Your mother showed me some of your landscapes and animal paintings and I thought they were great, really great, and I seriously considered calling you and asking you to do a portrait of me -- until I saw the results of your sister's hacked emails. Those bathroom sketches were wonderful, but at my age I think I should keep my suit."

The Smoking Gun released Bush's pictures of himself in the shower and the bathtub in February. Art experts contacted by The Huffington Post said uniformly that they were perplexed by the paintings.

The former president's wife, Laura Bush, said Thursday on NPR that there would be no paintings at the Bush center until he gets "better."

Before You Go

George W. Bush Presidential Library Ceremony

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot