President Barack Obama (painting)

President Barack Obama is a 2018 portrait of Barack Obama by the artist Kehinde Wiley for the National Portrait Gallery.

President Barack Obama
portrait of Barack Obama
Year2018
Mediumoil paint, canvas
SubjectBarack Obama 
Dimensions213.7 cm (84.1 in) × 147 cm (58 in) × 3.2 cm (1.3 in)
LocationNational Portrait Gallery
External video
Obamas' Portrait Unveiling, National Portrait Gallery, February 12, 2018, C-SPAN

Overview

In October 2017, it was announced that Wiley had been chosen by Barack Obama to paint an official portrait of the former president to appear in Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery "America's Presidents" exhibition.[1] The painting depicts Obama sitting in a chair seemingly floating among foliage.[2] The foliage is described by the author as "chrysanthemums (the official flower of Chicago), jasmine (symbolic of Hawaii where the president spent most of his childhood) and African blue lilies (alluding to the president's late Kenyan father)."[3] Reacting to the unveiling of his portrait Obama said: "How about that? That's pretty sharp".[4] The Washington Post described the painting as "not what you'd expect and that's why it's great".[2]

Together with Amy Sherald's portrait of Michelle Obama, the paintings were unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery on February 12, 2018.[5] Both portraits mark the first time two African-American artists were commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery.[6]

Reception

The unveiling of the portrait led to thousands of visitors lining up at the entrance, and a threefold increase in visitors compared to the prior President's Day Weekend.[7] At the unveiling, Obama appreciated Wiley’s ability to show “the beauty and the grace and the dignity” of Black people in a grand way. Obama commended the painting for avoiding making him “look like Napoleon” as many of Wiley’s previous subjects were on horseback.[8] National Gallery Director Kim Sajet supported both the selection and the artist’s rendition, commending Wiley on his ability to integrate popular culture into the realm of high art.[9]

Online media outlets had mixed reactions to the painting. Some see the portraits as political and historical commentary; elegant as an attempt to subvert the racist insults experienced by Obama during his presidency but vibrant enough to entice the viewer.[10] The Obama portrait may also uphold the public image of the man himself as an intelligent, serious problem solver.[11]

The public response on social media ranged from likening it to simplistic art, to humorous reflections on the portrait in the form of memes, featuring cartoon character Homer Simpson and using wordplay to comment on the use of bushes in the portrait.[12][13]

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See also
  • Portraits of Presidents of the United States

References
  1. Smith, Roberta. "Why the Obamas' Portrait Choices Matter". New York Times. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  2. Philip Kennicott (February 12, 2018). "The Obamas' portraits are not what you'd expect and that's why they're great". The Washington Post.
  3. Forgione, Mary (13 February 2018). "Portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama make their debut in Washington, D.C. And they're not what you'd expect". LA Times. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  4. Bennett, Kate (12 February 2018). "Obamas' official portraits unveiled". CNN. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  5. McGlone, Peggy (February 20, 2018). "Obama paintings bring huge crowds, excitement to National Portrait Gallery". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  6. "'A Game Changer.' How a Painting of President Obama Broke the Rules". Time. Retrieved 2018-10-20.
  7. Cascone, Sarah (February 20, 2018). "The Obama Portraits Have Boosted Attendance to the National Portrait Gallery by More Than 300 Percent". Artnet News. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  8. "'A Game Changer.' How a Painting of President Obama Broke the Rules". Time. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  9. "Gallery unveils Obama portraits by 1st black artists to receive presidential commissions". SFGate. 2018-02-12. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  10. "Two iconic portraits for the iconic Obama presidency - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  11. "Why Barack and Michelle Obama's new presidential portraits matter". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  12. "Jon Levine on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  13. "The New Obama Portraits Brought Out the Best Memes". Time. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
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