
Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution
The Obamas’ portrait artists of choice, Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald
By David K. Gibson
Feb 16, 2018
Photo by Pete Souza
Unveiling the portraits of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., February 12.
This week, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery became the center of the contemporary art world.
On Monday, portraits of President Barack Obama and Mrs. Michelle Obama were unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery. The works, by artists (respectively) Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, generated several hours of freelance art criticism and wistful remembrances—at least in my social media feeds. Days later, visitors to Washington, D.C., are clamoring to see the paintings in person and are lined hundreds deep in stanchioned queues all the way into the courtyard of the museum.
Dorothy Moss, curator of painting and sculpture at the National Portrait Gallery, oversaw the commission of the Sherald portrait of the former First Lady. She’s thrilled, and not just because of the media splash the unveiling made; the paintings are worth seeing because they’re great art on a host of levels.
“These portraits are about more than the subjects,” says Moss. “They are about the history of representation and who has been included in dominant historical narratives. These portraits represent a breakthrough and departure from the tradition of conservative, formal portraiture.”
Kehinde Wiley’s presidential portrait is generating attention because it’s so different from the stuffy, classical poses many expect from an official portrait. But it’s by no means unprecedented. “I see some parallels with Elaine de Kooning’s portrait of John F. Kennedy in terms of portraiture that is representative of the height of contemporary art,” says Moss. But it’s more than that. “These are both artists who are at the forefront of contemporary portraiture and have been grappling with critical discourse around race,” she says. “They’ve been making those visible who haven’t been visible in historical portrait paintings displayed in museums.”Sign up for the Daily Wander newsletter for expert travel inspiration and tips
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