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| Kehinde Wiley, Barack Obama (2018) |
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| Amy Sherald, Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (2018) |
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| Source: Getty Images via popsugar.com |
In
the past, presidential portrait unveilings have drawn little fanfare, but the
Obamas were not your typical presidential family and Wiley and Sherald are not
your typical portrait artists.
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| Kehinde Wiley, left, and Amy Sherald, right at the unveiling of the Obama portraits. Source: Getty Images |
Kehinde Wiley, who grew up in South Central, Los Angeles and is currently based in New York City, is a classically trained portrait artist who has studied in Russia, the San Francisco Art Institute, and Yale University. He takes contemporary African Americans, in powerful, heroic poses and sets them in backgrounds reminiscent of Old Master style paintings. It’s hip-hop, it’s unabashedly black, and it’s uniquely Wiley.
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| Kehinde Wiley for the New York Times |
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| The Veiled Christ (study), 2008 |
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| Morpheus, 2008 |
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| Equestrian Portrait of King Philip II (Michael Jackson), 2010 |
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| Judith and Holofernes, 2012 |
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| Shantavia Beale II, 2012 |
Baltimore-based Amy Sherald, who studied at Clark Atlanta University, Spellman College, and the
Maryland Institute College of Art, is a rising portrait artist whose work
addresses social justice, politics and African-American culture. She
focuses on issues of race and identity in the American South. Her
grey tone subjects juxtaposed against bright, colorful garments on a flat
background are striking, each telling a distinct story.
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| Amy Sherald for the Baltimore Sun |
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| Innocent You, Innocent Me (2016 |
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| A Clear Unspoken Granted Magic, 2017 |
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| All Things Bright and Beautiful, 2016 |
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What’s Precious Inside of Him Does Not Care to be Known by
the Mind in Ways that Diminish Its Presence, 2017
|
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| Grand Dame Queenie, 2012 |
Both
artists usually paint people they see on the street, although Wiley has painted
several famous people, including Michael Jackson and The Notorious
B.I.G. Both are aware of the need for more black faces in museums.
“There’s not enough images of us,” Sherald said in an October 2017 New York
Times interview.
The
choice of Wiley and Sherald wasn’t a surprise for some, as the Obamas have
always been “rooting for everybody black,” including contemporary black
artists, especially the up and comers like Sherald. That Wiley and
Sherald have distinct styles that will stand out among the others in the
gallery was almost certainly a deliberate move by the Obamas.
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| The Obamas with the artists at the National Portrait Gallery unveiling, Getty Images |
Since
the announcement in early 2017 that two black artists would paint America’s
first black President and First Lady, the portraits were highly anticipated,
and the final results, unveiled at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait
Gallery on Monday, deeply moving.
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| Getty Images |
As I
watched the unveiling on my computer at home, I gasped when Wiley’s rendition
of Obama was unveiled – life size image of a steadfast, unshakably poised
leader, seated in a dignified chair, elbows resting on knees, arms crossed, and
a stern, alert look in his eyes. This isn’t the picture of a relaxed
man, but a determined, engaged leader.
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| National Portrait Gallery |
In
the portrait, Obama is surrounded by a lush background of greenery from which
flowers of symbolic meaning are intertwined - chrysanthemums, the official
flower of Chicago, where Obama began his political career, met his wife and
began his family; jasmine represents Hawaii, his birthplace; and African blue
lilies signify Kenya, the land of his father’s.
Wiley
said the plants chart Obama’s “path on Earth.” Obama said that the
portrait was, “pretty sharp.” About Wiley he said "What I was
always struck by when I saw his portraits was the degree to which they
challenged our ideas of power and privilege."
Sherald’s life sized portrait of Mrs. Obama is done in her style of a gray palette for the former first lady’s skin tone, set against a vibrant white and geometric print dress, custom made by Michelle Smith. A dress with historic, political meaning.
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| Michelle Obama and Amy Sherald unveil her portrait, Getty Images |
Smith is an American designer, outspoken critic of the current president, and an unabashed support of civil, women’s, and reproductive rights. Obama often wore pieces from Smith’s Milly label throughout her tenure as first lady.
The dress draws on the American tradition of quilting, specifically the quilts created by the isolated African-American community of Gee’s Bend, Alabama. These quilts were created using recycled scraps of fabric, and are notable for their abstract, asymmetrical compositions.
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| National Portrait Gallery |
In
the portrait, the former first lady’s arms that inspired and shocked the nation
are on full display. Her dignified, serene gaze is leveled at the
viewer, her expression is soft, strong, and confident. Her pose is gracefully
casual with one hand resting under her chin.
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| Barack Obama gazes upon the portrait of Michelle Obama, Getty Images |
At
the unveiling, President Obama said the portrait “spectacularly” captured the
First Lady’s “grace, beauty, intelligence, charm and
hotness.” Michelle Obama said that she was “humbled” and
“overwhelmed.”
While
some social media “art critics” have voiced their displeasure with the
renderings, the Obama’s have been nothing but thrilled by their
portraits. What we must remember is that the Obamas chose Wiley and
Sherald to paint their portraits, so they were quite familiar with their works
and were deliberate in the choosing. We must also remember that
paintings aren’t photographs and these portraits should not be approached as if
they are.
I’m
not sure why some folks expected some basic, run of the mill portraits, when
the Obamas are such extraordinary public figures. As artists, I’m
sure Sherald and Wiley know that the public will have strong opinions either
way, but the blessings of the Obamas is all that should matter.
What
is incredibly striking to me as a lover of history and of art, and most
importantly as an African American, is the level of fanfare that this unveiling
has generated. The number of think pieces and articles that have
been written, the level of discussion, the fact that even those who aren’t art
lovers or critics have been discussing these portraits with unprecedented
fervor.
What
gives me the most unabashed joy is that the portrait of the first black
president will hang among portraits of presidents who owned slaves, who did not
believe in the rights of African Americans, who were segregationists.
A few
years ago, as I walked through the America’s Presidents exhibition at the
National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. nothing particularly moved
me. Many are your standard issue portraits, very stately and
dignified…and a little boring, but there are a few that stand out – some in a
good way, the Gilbert Stuart “Lansdowne Portrait” of George Washington, the
George Peter Alexander Healy portrait of Abraham Lincoln, the Elaine De Kooning
watercolor of John F. Kennedy. Some stand out in an interesting way,
the Chuck Close abstract of Bill Clinton, the Patrick Oliphant sculptures of
Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush.
The
Obama portrait will change that immensely. African American parents
will flock to the National Portrait Gallery in droves with their children, who
will gaze up in awe at these majestic masterpieces and once again be filled
with hope and pride and the promise of a brighter tomorrow.
As
Michelle Obama so eloquently put it at the portrait unveiling, “I’m thinking
about all of the young people, particularly girls, and girls of color, who in
years ahead will come to this place, and they will look up, and they will see
an image of someone who looks like them hanging on the wall of this great
American institution. I know about the impact it’ll have on their lives,
because I was one of those girls.”
Former President Barack Obama's portrait is on view in the
America's Presidents gallery on the museum's second floor. Former First Lady Michelle Obama's portrait
will be featured in the Recent Acquisitions gallery on the museum's first floor
until November 2018.
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