ATLANTA — I remember hearing in 2013 that George W. Bush had taken up painting. It sounded like a surprisingly artsy, but pleasant hobby for a man who had finished two terms in the White House and was finally done with politics after decades in the game.
Winston Churchill had been a painter, too, and a good one. While Churchill's art often depicted European landscapes and friends' estates, a new exhibit of Bush's paintings at the Atlanta History Center is a not-at-all subtle call for comprehensive immigration reform, something he tried and failed to enact during his second term as president.
The exhibit of Bush's art is called, "Out of Many, One," the English translation of the E Pluribus Unum motto on the Great Seal of the United States. It includes 43 portraits from the 43rd president, which depict American immigrants selected by Bush for their achievements on behalf of their adopted country.
