Former President George W. Bush Draws Inspiration Close to His Dallas Home in His Latest Paintings
A visitor looks at an exhibit of paintings by President George W. Bush on display at the George W. Bush Presidential Museum on Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Dallas.
DALLAS (AP) — Former President George W. Bush didn't need to look too far for inspiration for his newest works of art.
The 78-year-old has brushed portraits of world leaders and people who immigrated to the U.S. But his newest collection draws on scenes much closer to home: his presidential library in Dallas.
The exhibit opened Thursday at the George W. Bush Presidential Center on the campus of Southern Methodist University. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush moved to Dallas after he left the White House in 2009, and he took up oil painting a few years later.
The 35 new works are an ode not only to life at the center but also to SMU. The exhibit called 'A Shining City on the Hilltop' is both a nod to SMU's nickname — The Hilltop — and former President Ronald Reagan's famous use of the phrase 'shining city upon a hill' to refer to America, said Teresa Lenling, director of the presidential museum.
'This features not just the places around the SMU campus but it really takes a look at the people that are the heart of this campus and the community,' said Lenling, adding that Bush composed the paintings from photos taken around the center and campus.
One of the paintings comes from the center's opening in 2013, when then-President Barack Obama and all of the still-living former presidents, including Bush's father, George H.W. Bush, posed in front of the new building.
Devon Yarbrough, who works at the center, said she was 'very surprised' but pleased to spot herself in one of the paintings. She's depicted reading a book on her lunch break while sitting on a bench under a tree in the center's 15-acre park.
This is the fifth exhibit of George W. Bush's art to be featured at the center. His first exhibit was a collection of portraits of world leaders including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Dalai Lama.
He's also done a collection of paintings of military veterans, which were featured in his book 'Portraits of Courage,' and painted portraits of people who immigrated to the U.S., which are compiled in his book 'Out of Many, One.'
The exhibit is on display through Oct. 19.
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Japan Today
5 hours ago
- Japan Today
Survivors remember wartime emperor's surrender speech 80 years ago
Reiko Muto, a former nurse student, speaks on her experience during an interview with The Associated Press on Feb 18 at St Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo. By MARI YAMAGUCHI and MAYUKO ONO Friday is the 80th anniversary of then-Emperor Hirohito's announcement of Japan's World War II surrender, but as living witnesses die and memories fade, questions remain in Japan about how the war should be taught to younger generations. A national ceremony was held at Tokyo's Budokan hall, beginning at noon, the same time then-Emperor Hirohito's 4½-minute prerecorded speech began on Aug. 15, 1945, on national radio. Hirohito's responsibility for the war remains controversial today, and Japan has struggled to come to terms with its wartime past, both at home and in the Asian countries it brutally invaded. In 1995, then-Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama apologized over Japan's aggression in Asia. It was welcomed abroad but there has since been continual pushback against it by revisionists and those who deny responsibility. Here's a look at the speech and the memories of some of the people who heard the announcement. Even after the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there was dispute within the military government over if or how the war should be ended. The day before the announcement, Hirohito, dressed in a formal military uniform, met with top government officials in a bunker at the Imperial Palace to approve Japan's surrender. Staff members for NHK, the national broadcaster, were secretly called in, and Hirohito recorded the speech twice, finishing late that night. Palace officials hid the recordings to protect them from sabotage attempts by a group of army officers, who at one point seized the broadcast facility. Despite the chaos, palace officials safely delivered the recordings to NHK for radio transmission at noon on Aug. 15, 1945. Up until the moment of the surrender announcement, there were suicides, coup attempts and fighting among army officers. The action-filled drama of the days before Hirohito's radio address was made into a film, 'Japan's Longest Day,' as well as a graphic novel. Hirohito's voice, which most Japanese were hearing for the first time because he was considered a living god, was not easy to understand because of poor sound quality and the arcane language he used. The message was clear, though: Japan had lost the war. Fumiko Doi heard the emperor's address at home in Nagasaki just 6 days after surviving the atomic bombing. She remembers that her neighbors gathered at her home to listen to a radio placed on top of a cabinet. She did not understand what exactly was said, but later learned it was the announcement of Japan's surrender. It was not a surprise, because she had heard her mother say that Japan would lose. 'I only wish the emperor had issued an order to end the war sooner,' Doi says. The Nagasaki bombing and an attack on Hiroshima three days earlier together killed more than 210,000 people and left many survivors with radiation-induced illnesses. On Aug. 9, 1945, at 11:02 a.m., Doi was on a train 5 kilometers (3 miles) away from the location a U.S. B-29 dropped the atomic bomb. Her mother and two of her three brothers died of cancer, and two sisters have struggled with their health. Reiko Muto, who survived the massive Tokyo firebombing just five months earlier as a 17-year-old nursing student, was at her hospital on Aug. 15. Everyone gathered in an auditorium for 'an important broadcast.' People cried when the emperor's muffled voice came on the radio. 'The first thing that came to my mind was that now I could leave the lights on at night,' Muto said. 'I was so relieved that the war was over.' The March 10, 1945, U.S. firebombing of Tokyo killed more than 100,000 people. Truckloads of people with serious burns cried in pain and begged for water, but because of a shortage of medical supplies, the best she could do was to comfort them. But the end of the war didn't immediately end the hardship. Her hospital and nursing school were occupied by the allied powers, though she managed to graduate two years later and pursued a career in pediatric nursing. 'What we went through should never be repeated,' she says. Sora, her two sisters and their parents barely survived the atomic bombing on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, when the blast destroyed her home just 1.4 kilometers (0.9 mile) from the hypocenter, and Sora's face was burned. Her grandmother suffered severe burns, and her uncle and aunt were never found. While taking shelter at a relatives' home, her parents listened to the radio broadcast, but sound quality was particularly bad in Hiroshima because the atomic bombing destroyed key infrastructure. Her grandmother, who died later that day, sounded disappointed about the announcement, Sora said. Her grandmother's generation venerated the emperor, and his acknowledgment of Japan's defeat must have discouraged her far more than the rest of the family imagined, Sora said. Despite the sadness of her grandmother's death, the surrender speech gave Sora peace of mind. 'War brings horror and intimidation even to little children,' she said. Hirohito's son and grandson have repeatedly expressed deep remorse over the war, but prime ministers since 2013 have not apologized to Asian victims of Japan's aggression amid a government lean toward revisionism. Hirohito's grandson, current Emperor Naruhito, has repeatedly stressed the importance of telling the war's tragic history to younger generations. He has traveled to Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Hiroshima, and is expected to visit Nagasaki with his daughter, Princess Aiko, in September. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who has signaled a more neutral view of Japan's wartime history, has said he is determined to keep passing on the tragedy of the war. But his leadership comes as emboldened ultra-conservatives in his party try to force him out over a July election loss. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Asahi Shimbun
7 hours ago
- Asahi Shimbun
EDITORIAL: Japan's role as a protector of peace now called into question
Eighty years ago following the end of World War II, the victors, mindful of the dreadful loss of life, sought to create a rule-based system rather than rely on the strength of nations to maintain international order. But that principle has grown weaker and domination by force has again reared its ugly head. The International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Netherlands was established in 2002 to prosecute those responsible for the gravest crimes against humanity from an independent perspective rather than having victors in war make those judgments. But the ICC now faces relentless pressure from both the United States and Russia, two permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. SUPERPOWERS NOT FULFILLING THEIR ROLES Last year, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a former defense minister, together with a former Hamas commander, citing war crimes committed in Gaza. U.S. President Donald Trump retaliated in June by implementing economic sanctions that froze the assets of four ICC judges. An emergency meeting of ICC judges was convened at which one of those targeted by the sanctions said tearfully: 'I have undertaken my work to bring about justice for crime victims. But I have been placed on a sanctions list next to terrorists for an extremely irrational reason given unilaterally by the United States, which is not even a member. Is there anything that is more humiliating than this?' Other ICC judges, including President Tomoko Akane, were reportedly moved by the appeal. Akane has been placed on Russia's most wanted list after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin over reported mass abductions of Ukrainian children by Russian forces. This is the situation that prevails 80 years after the end of World War II. By invading Ukraine, Russia ignored the provisions of international law which state that a nation's territory is inviolable. For his part, Trump has called for annexing the territory of other nations, Canada, for example. The United States also turned a blind eye to the international order by bombing nuclear facilities in Iran. China is also applying greater military and economic pressure on other nations. The U.N. Charter calls on its members to maintain international peace and security by upholding international law. Based on the lesson that the cooperation of major powers was needed to maintain order, five nations were named as permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and given veto power. But the United States and Russia, which created the United Nations and the Security Council, have flouted international laws, threatened to use nuclear weapons and repeatedly vetoed resolutions not to their liking. THE COURSE AHEAD FOR JAPAN Japan has prospered due to the benefits arising from the rule of law. With scarce food and other resources and limits to strengthening its defense because of a tight fiscal situation, Japan's lifeline for prosperity and national security is free trade and international law. If its key ally the United States acts in a way that undermines the existing international order, it could lead to a reassessment of Japan's reliance on Washington, which could have been excessive in the past. Japan took the initiative for the Trans-Pacific Partnership and must continue to shoulder the role of promoting free trade. Given the current security environment, defense capability based on the alliance with the United States is necessary, but diplomacy plays a much greater role than military force. There will be a need to deepen cooperation with nations that share the belief in the rule of law, such as South Korea, Australia and those in Europe, as well as occasionally take a stance critical of Washington. In explaining how she, as a Japanese, became the ICC president, Akane said, 'It reflects the fact Japan has maintained a pacifist stance throughout the postwar era as well as transmitted to the world the importance of rule of law.' Eighty years after the end of World War II, Japan's role as a protector of that rule of law is being called into question. --The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 15
Asahi Shimbun
9 hours ago
- Asahi Shimbun
Japan marks end of WWII as survivors remember wartime emperor's surrender speech 80 years ago
Reiko Muto, a former nurse student, speaks on her experience during an interview with The Associated Press on, July 9, 2025, in Hiroshima, western Japan. (AP Photo) Friday is the 80th anniversary of then-Emperor Hirohito's announcement of Japan's World War II surrender, but as living witnesses die and memories fade, questions remain in Japan about how the war should be taught to younger generations. A national ceremony will begin at Tokyo's Budokan hall at noon, the same time then-Emperor Hirohito's 4½-minute prerecorded speech began on Aug. 15, 1945, on national radio. Hirohito's responsibility for the war remains controversial today, and Japan has struggled to come to terms with its wartime past, both at home and in the Asian countries it brutally invaded. In 1995, then-Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama apologized over Japan's aggression in Asia. It was welcomed abroad but there has since been continual pushback against it by revisionists and those who deny responsibility. Here's a look at the speech and the memories of some of the people who heard the announcement. Even after the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there was dispute within the military government over if or how the war should be ended. The day before the announcement, Hirohito, dressed in a formal military uniform, met with top government officials in a bunker at the Imperial Palace to approve Japan's surrender. Staff members for NHK, the national broadcaster, were secretly called in, and Hirohito recorded the speech twice, finishing late that night. Palace officials hid the recordings to protect them from sabotage attempts by a group of army officers, who at one point seized the broadcast facility. Despite the chaos, palace officials safely delivered the recordings to NHK for radio transmission at noon on Aug. 15, 1945. Up until the moment of the surrender announcement, there were suicides, coup attempts and fighting among army officers. The action-filled drama of the days before Hirohito's radio address was made into a film, 'Japan's Longest Day,' as well as a graphic novel. Hirohito's voice, which most Japanese were hearing for the first time because he was considered a living god, was not easy to understand because of poor sound quality and the arcane language he used. The message was clear, though: Japan had lost the war. She remembers that her neighbors gathered at her home to listen to a radio placed on top of a cabinet. She did not understand what exactly was said, but later learned it was the announcement of Japan's surrender. It was not a surprise, because she had heard her mother say that Japan would lose. 'I only wish the emperor had issued an order to end the war sooner,' Doi says. The Nagasaki bombing and an attack on Hiroshima three days earlier together killed more than 210,000 people and left many survivors with radiation-induced illnesses. On Aug. 9, 1945, at 11:02 a.m., Doi was on a train 5 kilometers (3 miles) away from the location a U.S. B-29 dropped the atomic bomb. Her mother and two of her three brothers died of cancer, and two sisters have struggled with their health. Reiko Muto, who survived the massive Tokyo firebombing just five months earlier as a 17-year-old nursing student, was at her hospital on Aug. 15. Everyone gathered in an auditorium for 'an important broadcast.' People cried when the emperor's muffled voice came on the radio. 'The first thing that came to my mind was that now I could leave the lights on at night,' Muto said. 'I was so relieved that the war was over.' The March 10, 1945, U.S. firebombing of Tokyo killed more than 100,000 people. Truckloads of people with serious burns cried in pain and begged for water, but because of a shortage of medical supplies, the best she could do was to comfort them. But the end of the war didn't immediately end the hardship. Her hospital and nursing school were occupied by the allied powers, though she managed to graduate two years later and pursued a career in pediatric nursing. 'What we went through should never be repeated,' she says. Sora, her two sisters and their parents barely survived the atomic bombing on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, when the blast destroyed her home just 1.4 kilometers (0.9 mile) from the hypocenter, and Sora's face was burned. Her grandmother suffered severe burns, and her uncle and aunt were never found. While taking shelter at a relative's home, her parents listened to the radio broadcast, but sound quality was particularly bad in Hiroshima because the atomic bombing destroyed key infrastructure. Her grandmother, who died later that day, sounded disappointed about the announcement, Sora said. Her grandmother's generation venerated the emperor, and his acknowledgment of Japan's defeat must have discouraged her far more than the rest of the family imagined, Sora said. Despite the sadness of her grandmother's death, the surrender speech gave Sora peace of mind. 'War brings horror and intimidation even to little children,' she said. Hirohito's son and grandson have repeatedly expressed deep remorse over the war, but prime ministers since 2013 have not apologized to Asian victims of Japan's aggression amid a government lean toward revisionism. Hirohito's grandson, current Emperor Naruhito, has repeatedly stressed the importance of telling the war's tragic history to younger generations. He has traveled to Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Hiroshima, and is expected to visit Nagasaki with his daughter, Princess Aiko, in September. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who has signaled a more neutral view of Japan's wartime history, has said he is determined to keep passing on the tragedy of the war. But his leadership comes as emboldened ultra-conservatives in his party try to force him out over a July election loss.
