Jon McNaughton is America’s foremost conservative artist. An outspoken critic of the left, McNaughton strives to paint images that express his ideas and beliefs. Hated and loved for his controversial work, viewers from around the globe write about the unique perspective of these paintings that seem to tap into the heart of American Patriotism.
"The purpose of my painting is to communicate my ideas. American politics is filled with nuance and shades of grey, but I see the world through a prism of light and truth. My art reflects who I am and doesn’t use nuance or shades of grey to make my point. I want future generations to know exactly how I felt during this time in our country’s history.”
Media Recognition
New York Magazine “America’s most popular relentlessly pro-Trump artist” https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/11/jon-mcnaughton-has-outdone-himself.html
The Washington Post “The most famous pro-Trump artist in the US.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-most-famous-pro-trump-artist-in-the-us-has-moved-into-his-mueller-phase/2018/05/15/6363a92e-552c-11e8-a551-5b648abe29ef_story.html
Politico "Jon McNaughton is, perhaps, the most divisive political artist alive." https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/21/trump-painter-00026676
Current Affairs “Trump administration’s unofficial artist” https://www.currentaffairs.org/2019/03/ten-paintings-by-jon-mcnaughton-explained
The Atlantic “McNaughton’s historical-art framework makes his production seem special, respectable, even potentially important. He clothes the political vitriol of the day in something that is ostensibly more refined, more enduring, in the vein of “timeless” traditional values.”https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/10/jon-mcnaughtons-art-tells-story-trump-era/599803/
Alternet “If I tell you that Jon McNaughton, the pro-Trump propaganda artist whose lurid, overwrought, literal-yet-symbolic and strangely compelling works have been reproduced in thousands if not millions of social media posts, is the most important painter of our time — perhaps the only important painter of our time.” https://www.alternet.org/2020/01/a-great-artist-is-someone-who-captures-the-deranged-spirit-of-his-time-maga-propaganda-painter-jon-mcnaughton-is-the-real-deal/
Washington Examiner “The painstaking nature of McNaughton’s work sets him apart from the crowd of amateurs and the Russian meme-propagating social-media hacks; here is a man not churning out hastily created GIFs but taking time and care to express his convictions. Moreover, the paintings may be the butt of jokes but they are not themselves intended as jokes. There is no irony here; to their maker they are authentic works of art capturing the danger and despair of our political moment. His authentic yearning invites the cynical to lambaste the paintings.” https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/weekly-standard/angry-kitsch
Salon “Jon McNaughton: “Greatest artist of our time?” https://www.salon.com/2020/01/26/trump-propaganda-painter-jon-mcnaughton-greatest-artist-of-our-time/
The New Yorker “... possible consolidation of a new nationalist, anti-cosmopolitan, anti-élitist élite, one that co-opts modern art’s cynosures of energy and novelty to express and inspire a militantly rightist agenda.” https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/year-of-the-forgotten-man
The Guardian “If there’s a defining image for Donald Trump’s presidential moment, it could well be The Forgotten Man, an oil painting by Utah-based artist Jon McNaughton.” https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/nov/17/jon-mcnaughton-painting-trump-white-house-the-forgotten-man
The New York Times “Artist Jon McNaughton, a supporter, has continued to paint widely circulated images favorable to the president.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/20/arts/design/election-art.html
Stephen Colbert “I’m just glad the art world finally has a great conservative master to balance out all the liberal hacks!” https://www.cc.com/video/t3omhb/the-colbert-report-jon-mcnaughton-s-nation-under-socialism-artwork
Sean Hannity “Looking at these paintings, and one moves me, and his story that it represents more than any art that I’ve seen.”Sean Hannity Show, March 28th, 2012
Steve Bannon “The artist of the MAGA movement.” War Room, January 7, 2022
Glenn Beck “He’s the guy most conservatives will know…” Glenn Beck Program May 28, 2019
Epoch Times “McNaughton’s “Crossing the Swamp” literally crosses a new boundary into uncharted territory: contemporary conservative art.” http://www.epochtimesph.com/arts/the-rise-of-conservative-art-and-poetry.html
Buzzfeed “Anti-Obama art selling for six figures” https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mhastings/anti-obama-art-selling-for-six-figures
Fox News “Crossing the Swamp touches off social media frenzy” https://www.foxnews.com/politics/painting-of-trump-team-crossing-the-swamp-touches-off-social-media-frenzy Newsweek “McNaughton has never shied away from political topics in his art.” https://www.newsweek.com/new-painting-sean-hannity-depicted-paul-revere-was-releasedthen-memes-came-1483557
Deseret News “America’s most controversial artist.” https://www.deseret.com/2022/1/23/22865726/is-painter-jon-mcnaughton-trolling-the-left-or-the-right-trump-themed-nft-collection rdquo;
