SMITHSONIAN UNVEILS NEW OBAMA PORTRAITS
Former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, attracted hundreds of friends, colleagues and media Monday — including former Vice President Joe Biden, director Steven Spielberg, actor Tom Hanks and television producer Shonda Rhimes — for the unveiling of portraits commissioned by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery for its permanent collection.
The bold choice of contemporary artist Kehinde Wiley, known for his colorful and subversive style, and up-and-comer Amy Sherald fueled interest in the event. They are the first African-American artists to receive commissions of the president and first lady, respectively, and they bring a contemporary excitement to the traditional portrait, gallery Director Kim Sajet said.
“Kehinde and Amy are taking the best of old portraiture traditions and adding a fresh layer by absorbing the influences of fashion, music, pop culture and painterly inventiveness,” Sajet said. “Together, they are transmitting the energy of urban America into the contemplative spaces of high culture, and I for one am thrilled.”
Wiley’s portrait of the president shows a steely-eyed Obama leaning forward in a chair that seems to float on a background of lush green foliage. The painting will hang in the “America’s Presidents” exhibit, one of the 50-year-old museum’s most popular attractions.
“How about that? Pretty sharp,” the former president said after he and Wiley unveiled the life-size portrait to a swell of “wows” from the crowd.
Obama said he was drawn to Wiley’s work because the artist challenges conventional views of power and privilege. “He would take extraordinary care and precision and vision in recognizing the beauty, grace and dignity of people who are so often invisible in our lives,” Obama said.
Michelle Obama selected Baltimore artist Sherald, 44, saying she was “blown away by the boldness of her colors.” She and Sherald immediately forged a “sister-girl connection.” Sherald’s painting shows a pensive first lady wearing a dress by Michelle Smith’s Milly label before a blue background. The work will hang in an area reserved for new acquisitions through November.