Obama Portraits Tour- High Museum

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On February 12, 2018, the world watched the unveiling of The 44th President and Mrs. Obama’s portraits. This historical moment in black history is when the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery debuted the Obama Portraits representing our forever President and First Lady of the United States. They represent black excellence, hell they represent American excellence! The Obama’s led us without scandal and never used rhetoric that would divide a country. Ultimately, they united the country with love and acceptance passing some of the most progressive laws giving equal rights to the LGBTQ community. Yayyy Marriage Equality!

With style, grace, and intelligence, the Obama’s gave another viewpoint of what black America can look like; albeit some of us (the black community) knew how high achieving we can be if given the opportunity. It’s wonderful to see representation that’s positive and influential. The Obama portraits do that and more, plus the artists commissioned are in itself Black excellence. The focus of this blog post is spotlighting those said artists and their past works and how they incorporated their talent in creating the Obama portraits.

Kehinde Wiley

Amy Sherald (http://www.amysherald.com/) is the artist that painted Michelle Obama. To my surprise, I noticed that she is a Southern Georgia Peach hailing from Columbus, GA. Researching her work and background became much more relatable because she is from my best friend’s home town. http://www.amysherald.com is Also, she graduated from The Illustrious Clark Atlanta University (1997). I love my HBCU (Atlanta University Center) experience because I started my academic career at Morris Brown College. Shout out to MBC because they just got back their accreditation after 20 years, awesome comeback! Anyway, I absolutely live that she attended Clark Atlanta!

After graduating Clark Atlanta University, Ms. Sherald started to elevate as an artist. That same year (1997), she was a Spelman College International Artist-in-Residence in Portobelo, Panama (1997). With her innate ability and talent, she was set for destiny. Additionally, she received a MFA in Painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art. “In 2016, Sherald was the first woman and first African-American to win the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition grand prize; she also received the 2017 Anonymous Was A Woman award and the 2019 Smithsonian Ingenuity Award.” (Amysherald.com)

In my opinion, the most important part of Amy Sherald’s portraits are her lovely depiction of African Americans that highlights the color of their clothes with staged photos of her subjects. The regal images of her subjects allows us to visualize positive images of African Americans. Additionally, her use of her signature grayscale which is “a way of challenging the concept of color-as-race.” With her vibrant colorful backgrounds, it brings a smile to my face with each portrait. One of my favorite portrait is the one with an African American women with a red hat and blue semi-polka dotted dress. Andddd the white gloves and tea cup, set it off for me; screaming The Opulence that I have always seen growing up with my aunts, mother, and grandmothers! Ms. Sherald captured a part of African American society that is filled with proudness, electric elegance, and pure beauty simplified. I want to thank her for honoring our culture with ultimate style and grace.

Amy Sherald MISS EVERYTHING (UNSUPPRESSED DELIVERANCE)2014, 54 x 43 in, Oil on Canvas

The next artist that I want to highlight is Kehinde Wiley (https://kehindewiley.com/), which painted President Barack Obama. Born in Los Angeles, CA with a supportive parent; Mr. Wiley was able to cultivate his love of the arts at an early age. His mother Freddie Mae Wiley signed Kehinde and his twin brother in after-school art classes that lead to them being selected to spend a short time at a conservatory of art in Russia. Due to his competitive nature with his twin brother, they would compete to see who could recreate the most realistic images. This lead him to pursue his dream of becoming an artist. Wiley earned his BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1999 and his MFA from Yale University, School of Art in 2001; before becoming an artist-in-residence at the Studio Museum in Harlem. Kehinde Wiley’s style is blending contemporary and traditional modes of representation. His use of Old Masters paintings inserting Africa Americans in the same pose, showcasing that they can be part of contemporary art too. As I look through some of his previous portraits, I noticed that some backgrounds is reminiscent of a kente cloth representing his Nigerian roots. Also, he depicts black men and women in brightly colored flower backgrounds; the way he captured President Barack Obama. What’s most notable from the Obama portrait tour, it stated that Kehinde only had a couple of hours for President Obama to pose for the painting. It’s astonishing that he had such limited time, but was able to paint in intricate detail. He truly captured President Obama in realistic form, which he incorporated his signature of use of bold background of flowers. Each flower represented President Obama’s history. I don’t want to tell you too many details because experiencing this art exhibit is something to be seen in person.

What draws me to Kehinde Wiley is that he represents the black gay man’s experience. Honestly, it was the icing on the cake when I found out that he is a black gay man living in his truth. As I’m always rooting for anyone that overcomes the trauma of growing up in a society that tells us that we are not worthy or they fear us. I love how he narrates his paintings to show black men as relatable, vulnerable, heroic, and uplifting. We are important in the conversation as we tell our black queer story through portraits, music, literature, spoken word, and other art forms. I want to uplift him in spirit as he accomplish his next portraits. When I visited the Obama portrait exhibit, I could not help to scream in my head “Yes, ma’am” and “You betta represent”!! I am truly a fan boy that would love to meet him in person with Amy Sherald (wishful thinking)!!

Overall, my experience with visiting the Obama Portraits tour at the High Museum was simply amazing. It was a small but impactful exhibit. I read each word displayed at the exhibit and was in awe of the magnificent of the commissioned artists. I celebrate Amy Sherald And Kehinde Wiley for creating these portraits that will be forever seen in perpetuity.

The tour at the high museum ends March 20! However, check below other cities where the exhibit is being hosted.

Tour Locations Include

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