The Obamas Return To White House To Unveil Overdue Official Portraits
On Wednesday, Barack and Michelle Obama made their first joint visit to the White House since moving out of the building in 2017 to attend the belated unveiling of their official portraits. It’s often customary for former presidents and first ladies to get their paintings presented by their immediate successors, but the Obamas had not had their ceremony since Donald Trump took office.
Instead, the 44th US president and his wife were welcomed by Trump’s successor, Joe Biden, for the debut of their official portraits in the East Room. Barack and Michelle Obama’s pictures were painted by Robert McCurdy and Sharon Sprung respectively, with both artists handpicked by the couple themselves.
The portraits are not to be confused with the paintings by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald unmasked in 2018. Those were commissioned by the Smithsonian for the National Portrait Gallery, while these are the official ones for the White House.
On that note, the Obamas’ portraits will bear a striking contrast from all the others hung in the White House. Most notably, they’re the first Black presidential couple of the United States, but they also chose to work with contemporary painters, departing from the traditional style of portraits.
“It is great to be back,” Barack Obama declared at the ceremony.
I want to thank Robert McCurdy for his extraordinary work on my portrait. Robert is known for his paintings of public figures, and I love how he paints people exactly the way they are. Take a look at the process behind creating the official White House portraits: pic.twitter.com/oZb6ov4uwr
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) September 7, 2022
McCurdy’s interpretation of the former president is more photorealistic, picturing him in a black suit and gray tie with a white backdrop. Barack Obama lauded the hyperrealism, which he said contrasted with the usual “airbrushed” look that sometimes made presidents look “mythical,” even.
“Especially after you’ve gone and people forget all the stuff they didn’t like about you,” the former president described.
Meanwhile, Michelle Obama’s portrait embodies a “contemporary realist” style, with the former first lady depicted in the Red Room, wearing a blue dress.
Sharon Sprung is a brilliant artist who joins a small, but mighty group of women who have painted an official White House portrait. Learn more about her and the process that went into making our portraits: pic.twitter.com/NVAN3G0WpV
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) September 7, 2022
“There are few people I've ever known with more integrity, decency, and moral courage than Barack Obama,” said Biden. “Nothing could have prepared me better or more to become president of the United States than being at your side for eight years.”
