Former President George W. Bush will release "The Call of Freedom: Portraits of Political Prisoners and Dissidents" on March 9 through Crown (Penguin Random House). The third collection collects 44 oil portraits with short biographical sketches and will be accompanied by an exhibition at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas. Subjects include Mahsa Amini and imprisoned Nicaraguan bishop Rolando José Álvarez Lagos; Natan Sharansky writes the foreword. The book spotlights human-rights cases while also prompting renewed debate over Bush-era detention and interrogation policies.
George W. Bush To Release "The Call of Freedom" — 44 Portraits Of Political Prisoners Out March 9
This cover image released by Crown shows "The Call of Freedom: Portraits of Political Prisoners and Dissidents" by George W. Bush. (Crown via AP)
Former President George W. Bush will publish a new collection of oil portraits and short biographical sketches on March 9. The book, "The Call of Freedom: Portraits of Political Prisoners and Dissidents," will be released by Crown, a Penguin Random House imprint, and will coincide with an exhibition of the paintings at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas.
About the Book
The third volume of Bush's artwork contains 44 oil portraits, each paired with a concise biographical note. The subjects include high-profile symbols of repression and resistance such as the late Mahsa Amini — whose death in Iranian custody in 2022 ignited nationwide protests — and Nicaraguan bishop Rolando José Álvarez Lagos, who remains imprisoned.
Former Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky contributes the foreword. Bush frames the project as an effort to spotlight individual stories of courage and to call attention to people denied basic freedoms.
"This book, coupled with our work at the Bush Institute, is a chance for me to send a message that the United States cares deeply about people seeking freedom. And hopefully these stories will remind us that we who live in liberty have a duty to stand with those who do not."
Context And Controversy
While the book emphasizes human-rights advocacy, it also recalls criticism of Bush's presidency over policies and practices such as the CIA's use of waterboarding and the documented abuse of detainees at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. The new collection is likely to rekindle discussion about U.S. foreign policy and human-rights accountability even as it honors individual dissidents.
About The Artist
Bush began painting after leaving office in 2009. His earlier portrait collections include Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief's Tribute to America's Warriors and Out of Many, One: Portraits of America's Immigrants. The Call of Freedom is his third major book of portraits and continues his interest in using art as a form of public advocacy.
Help us improve.
