| The Forgotten Man | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Jon McNaughton |
| Year | 2010[1] |
| Medium | Oil painting |
| Owner | Sean Hannity[2] |
The Forgotten Man is a 2010 painting by the American artistJon McNaughton.[3] It depicts then PresidentBarack Obama standing in front of theWhite House beside a destitute citizen while being haunted by figures of all past presidents.[4] The subject matter of the painting was inspired by the passage of theAffordable Care Act.[2] McNaughton unveiled the painting in aYouTube video on September 14, 2010.[5] It was the second in a series of politically charged portraits painted by McNaughton.[6] The painting, along with subsequent works by McNaughton, have attracted notoriety by fans for their unsubtle political themes, while critics have focused on their perceived "so bad it's good" qualities.
The 43 men who as of 2010 had served as President of the United States are gathered in a park in front of the White House, above which the American flag can be seen, at half mast. In general, the 18th and 19th century presidents are on the left, the later ones on the right, some appear lost in thought while others,Bill Clinton and the two Roosevelts, are applauding. The only non-president in the painting is a young man, who sits alone on a park bench, hunched over in despair, contemplating his future. Some of the presidents, includingWashington,Jefferson,Lincoln andReagan reach out to him, while looking towardBarack Obama who stands in the foreground right.James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, is outraged by Obama's actions, for beneath Obama's foot is the U.S. Constitution. Scattered on the ground are dollar bills, laws and amendments that form part of the Bill of Rights.
The painting gained initial notoriety in 2010 when it was featured onMSNBC television hostRachel Maddow's blog as part of acaption contest.[7] In 2012, it drew satirical praise during an episode ofThe Colbert Report fromStephen Colbert's conservative persona.[8]
After being purchased by conservative commentatorSean Hannity in 2016,The Forgotten Man was rumored to have been bought as a gift for then President-electDonald Trump, though a spokesperson forFox News (Hannity's employer) later clarified that the painting was never intended to be given as a gift.[9][10]
The painting has drawn comparisons to a 1934Maynard Dixonpainting of the same name.[2]
In a follow up painting titledThe Empowered Man, McNaughton has the figure fromThe Forgotten Man standing and looking to the skies while holding the Constitution aloft with one hand and a large stack of paper currency in his other hand. In response, the figures of American Founders along withAbraham Lincoln,Ronald Reagan, andJohn F. Kennedy smile, and either applaud or pray in thanksgiving. The figures ofWoodrow Wilson,Franklin D. Roosevelt,Lyndon B. Johnson, andGeorge W. Bush either ignore the man or look ashamed. The figure ofBarack Obama has his hands stretching in front of him to ward off what he is seeing as he looks at the Constitution.[11]
In 2017 McNaughton produced another piece working off the same theme entitledYou Are Not Forgotten taking place in the same setting. In the work, then-presidentDonald Trump steps on the head of a serpent (invoking theProtevangelium) and accompanied by soldiers, veterans, and police officers looks on approvingly as the same figure fromThe Forgotten Man painting finishes planting a seedling alongside his wife and daughter.[12][13]
