Alluring! See Barack and Michelle Obama’s New Portraits by Kehinde Wiley & Amy Sherald

Alluring! See Barack and Michelle Obama’s New Portraits by Kehinde Wiley & Amy Sherald

Kehinde Wiley, New York City-based portrait painter who is known for his highly naturalistic paintings of black people in heroic poses, was tapped for the official portraits of Former U.S. President Barack Obama and Baltimore-based Amy Sherald was tapped for the portrait of former first lady Michelle Obama.

The portraits were unveiled yesterday during a ceremony at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, on February 12, 2018 in Washington, DC.
The portraits were commissioned by the Gallery, for Kehinde Wiley to create President Obama’s portrait, and Amy Sherald that of Michelle Obama.

Kehinde and Amy are the first African Americans commissioned to paint official portraits of the first couple for the National Portrait Gallery.

See photos from the unveiling below.

Former US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama stand before their portraits and respective artists, Kehinde Wiley (L) and Amy Sherald (R), after an unveiling at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, February 12, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION – TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

PhotoCredit: GettyImages