Bush previews paintings to be displayed at his first art exhibit

You’ve seen them in hacked emails posted on the Internet and on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”

Now you can view more than two dozen paintings by former President George W. Bush in his first art exhibit, “The Art of Leadership: A President’s Personal Diplomacy,” opening Saturday at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Those painting all are portraits of world leaders, including Tony Blair, Vladimir Putin and the Dalai Lama. Those leaders have not yet seen their portraits, Bush told his daughter and “The TODAY Show” contributing correspondent Jenna Bush Hager, and, he said, he hopes they will “take it in the spirit in which these were painted, and that was the spirit of friendship.”

He also said he thinks their reactions will be, “Wow, George Bush is a painter.”

Here’s how the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum describes the art exhibit:

So far, paintings by the former president glimpsed by the public have included a lot of dogs. There also have been some landscapes and still lifes (below, via Flavorwire) and a portrait of Leno he presented to the host on his show.

There also were these two unforgettable self portraits (via Vulture):

Bush has said he took up painting after leaving the White House after reading Winston Churchill’s “Painting as a Pastime.”

Here’s a clip of the former president’s interview with his daughter on “The TODAY Show”:

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See some of Bush’s paintings and his full interview tomorrow morning on “The TODAY Show” on NBC.