White House Painting: Obama Throws Artist Under the Bus

Today, the Washington Post reported that a painting by artist Alma Thomas entitled “Watusi (Hard Edge)” was being removed from the White House’s East Wing. For those who don’t remember, Thomas’ painting is a plagiaristic copy of Henri Matisse’s “The Snail” rotated 90 degrees – see my piece, and the paintings side by side here. According to Semonti Stephens, Michelle Obama’s deputy press secretary, the painting was moved “because it didn’t fit the space right.”

The White House explicitly denied that the painting was being removed because of its obvious similarity to the Matisse piece. And the Washington Post writers cover for the White House in typical press lackey fashion:

Stephens’s explanation makes sense because it is inconceivable that the White House’s art experts would imagine Thomas’s painting was fraudulent or a copy … Elaborations on earlier artists’ work, even full appropriation, have been common practice in art for hundreds of years.

Right. And Tom Daschle withdrew his nomination for Secretary of Health and Human Services because Obama didn’t like his red glasses. It had nothing to do with his tax cheating.

Since when does the White House announce when it moves art? They don’t issue a press release every time they replace a painting. In fact, the White House didn’t announce when it sent a bust of Winston Churchill back to Britain – the media had to find out on its own. This is a clear response to the Big Hollywood piece, as well as scrutiny from other diligent bloggers like Michelle Malkin.

The idea that the Obama White House is infallible when it comes to vetting either its art or its nominees is bizarre and unsupported by facts. This is an Administration that has placed known tax crooks in high financial positions. This is an Administration that made an open Communist Green Czar, and a pedophilia-phile Safe Schools Czar. Believing that the Obama Administration failed to do basic research on the art it hangs on its walls makes perfect sense. And no amount of obfuscation from the Washington Post is going to rectify the obvious cover-up attempt by the White House.