The Obamas’ official White House portraits have been unveiled.
More than five years after moving out of the president’s mansion, Barack and Michelle Obama returned to The White House Wednesday for a special ceremony to unveil their official portraits.
President Obama’s portrait was painted by Robert McCurdy and forever First Lady Michelle Obama’s portrait was painted by Sharon Sprung.
For Barack’s painting, McCurdy worked off of a photograph of the former President to create the hyper-realistic portrait. Following the style of McCurdy’s work, Barack is depicted standing behind a minimal white backdrop dressed in a black suit, gray tie and American flag pin.
“What I love about Robert’s work is that he paints people exactly the way they are, for better or worse,” Barack said after the unveiling. “You’ll note that he refused to hide any of my gray hairs, refused my request to make my ears smaller. He also talked me out of wearing a tan suit.”
Sprung’s portrait of Michelle depicts the former first lady in a blue dress, seated on a sofa in the Red Room of the White House. The artwork was also painted using reference photos taken in the White House.
“I want to thank Sharon Sprung for capturing everything I love about Michelle,” Barack said. “Her grace, her intelligence — and the fact that she’s fine.”
The Official White House Portraits are separate from the National Portrait Gallery paintings unveiled in 2018.
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