This is very cool, at least for us snooty high-culture types. From TPM:
The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery on Friday announced the two artists commissioned to paint the gallery’s official portraits of former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama.
The former President, the Smithsonian said, selected Kehinde Wiley to paint his portrait. And Michelle Obama chose the painter Amy Sherald.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the pair are the first black artists hired by the gallery to paint portraits of the President and first lady. The publication noted that, far from being lesser-known names in the art world, as is often the case with presidential portrait painters, both Wiley and Sherald have “major followings.”…
Sherald and Wiley have those followings because they deserve them. I haven’t had the good fortune to see either of these artists’ work in person, but I have read enough about them to be excited by this choice. Barack and Michelle Obama are, of course, very smart people whose tastes extend well beyond the usual ‘safe’ sanitized portraitists. If you click over on the YouTube clips, there’s tons of other meaty visual material from both artists to help enlighten your weekend…
Readership Capture: The Obamas Continue to Push the EnvelopePost + Comments (105)