Barack and Michelle Obama return to White House for unveiling of portraits
Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, returned to the White House on Wednesday for the unveiling of their official portraits, hosted by Joe Biden more than five years after the 44th president left office.
Large, formal portraits of presidents and first ladies adorn walls, hallways and rooms throughout the White House. Customarily, a former president returns for the unveiling during the tenure of his successor. But the Obamas, who have remained popular since leaving power, did not have their ceremony while Donald Trump was in office.
Before winning election in 2016 and succeeding Obama in 2017, Trump was a proponent of the “birther” movement that falsely suggested Obama was not born in the US.
A spokesperson for Obama declined to comment on the timing of the Obamas’ portrait unveilings. Obama’s office did describe the new portraits.
The former president, it said, is shown “dressed in a black suit with a grey tie, stand[ing] prominently at the center of the canvas”.
The statement added: “The photorealistic portrait was painted entirely from photographs that were taken by the artist, Robert McCurdy, during a short photo session.”
The office also said the “stark white backgrounds” of McCurdy’s portraits “allow the viewer to establish a relationship with the subject; the focus shifts from the celebrity-status of the individual to the viewer’s direct response to that individual as a human being. The composition also allows the viewer to establish their own meaning and interaction.”
Describing the portrait of Michelle Obama, the office said the former first lady “wears a formal blue dress and is seated on a sofa in the Red Room. Her portrait was also painted entirely from photographs that were taken by artist Sharon Sprung in various locations on the State Floor of the White House.”
Sprung, the statement said, “gets to know her sitters” through “her work on the small details of her subjects, such as their eyes, nose, or lips … Her paintings are jewel-like in their color palettes, a credit that she gives to her use of Vasari handmade paint. By methodically manipulating the layers of paint, she works to mimic the complexity of real life in her portrait compositions.”
The White House Historical Asso
ciation president, Stewart McLaurin, said there was no prescribed process for presidential portraits being created or installed.
“It’s really up to the current president in the White House and the former president that is portrayed in the portrait to determine the right moment, but there is no set timeline,” he said.
Obama hosted former president George W Bush and his wife, Laura, for their portrait unveilings in 2012, during Obama’s first term.
On Wednesday, Obama was hosted by his former vice-president, Joe Biden, and his wife, Jill. The Obamas and Bidens became close during Obama’s presidency, going through the ups and downs of their political and personal lives, including the death of Biden’s son, Beau, from cancer.
“Over the course of their eight years together in office, a close partnership between the two men grew through the highs and lows of the job and life,” Biden’s press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, told reporters on Tuesday.
The president and first lady were honored to host the unveiling of the portraits, “which will hang on the walls of the White House forever as reminders of the power of hope and change”, Jean-Pierre said.
The ceremony took place in the White House East Room.