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President Barack Obama (painting)

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President Barack Obama
portrait of Barack Obama
YearFebruary 2018
Mediumoil paint, canvas
SubjectBarack Obama Edit this on Wikidata
Dimensions213.7 cm (84.1 in) × 147 cm (58 in) × 3.2 cm (1.3 in)
LocationNational Portrait Gallery
[edit on Wikidata]
External videos
video icon Obamas' Portrait Unveiling, National Portrait Gallery, February 12, 2018, C-SPAN

President Barack Obama is an oil-on-canvas portrait of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, completed by the artist Kehinde Wiley in 2018 for the National Portrait Gallery.

Painting

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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 artist 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] Obama is wearing a 39mm White Gold Rolex Cellini watch which he has chosen to wear on multiple high profile occasions, including the inauguration of President Biden.[4] Reacting to the unveiling of his portrait Obama said: "How about that? That's pretty sharp".[5]

Together with Amy Sherald's portrait of Michelle Obama, the paintings were unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery on February 12, 2018.[6] Both portraits mark the first time two African-American artists were commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery.[7]

Reception

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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.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10]

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.[11] The Washington Post described the painting as "not what you'd expect and that's why it's great".[2] Those approving of the portrait say it portrays Obama as an intelligent, serious problem solver.[12] The piece has more critically been described as "weird" and that the president sits "awkwardly perched on the edge of his chair".[13]

The public response on social media included 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, comparing the bushes to the family of Obama's predecessor George W. Bush.[14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Smith, Roberta (16 October 2017). "Why the Obamas' Portrait Choices Matter". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 July 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  2. ^ a b Philip Kennicott (February 12, 2018). "The Obamas' portraits are not what you'd expect and that's why they're great". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 14, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  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. Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Barack Obama Spotted Wearing The Most Unloved & Misunderstood Rolex Ever". DMARGE. 2021-01-24. Archived from the original on 2022-01-04. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  5. ^ Bennett, Kate (12 February 2018). "Obamas' official portraits unveiled". CNN. Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  6. ^ McGlone, Peggy (February 20, 2018). "Obama paintings bring huge crowds, excitement to National Portrait Gallery". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 13, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  7. ^ "'A Game Changer.' How a Painting of President Obama Broke the Rules". Time. Archived from the original on 2018-10-19. Retrieved 2018-10-20.
  8. ^ Cascone, Sarah (February 20, 2018). "The Obama Portraits Have Boosted Attendance to the National Portrait Gallery by More Than 300 Percent". Artnet News. Archived from the original on February 21, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  9. ^ "'A Game Changer.' How a Painting of President Obama Broke the Rules". Time. Archived from the original on 2018-10-19. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  10. ^ "Gallery unveils Obama portraits by 1st black artists to receive presidential commissions". SFGate. 2018-02-12. Archived from the original on 2018-10-21. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  11. ^ "Two iconic portraits for the iconic Obama presidency - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Archived from the original on 2018-10-21. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  12. ^ "Why Barack and Michelle Obama's new presidential portraits matter". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on 2019-04-02. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  13. ^ "Here's the Bad News About Kehinde Wiley's Presidential Portrait of Barack Obama". ArtNet. 2018-02-13. Archived from the original on 2020-06-16. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  14. ^ "The New Obama Portraits Brought Out the Best Memes". Time. Archived from the original on 2018-10-10. Retrieved 2018-10-21.

Further reading

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