Official Obama Portraits Unveiled And They Are Not What You’d Expect!
Behold the Obamas official portraits as immortalized by African-American artists, Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald. Wiley is now the first African-American artist to have been commissioned to paint an official presidential portrait.
The former first couple’s official portraits were unveiled at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. All former presidents have their portraits hanging in the museum. It’s important because Barack Obama inspired a generation of children of color and his legacy should continue to inspire. As usual, former First Lady Michelle Obama had words of wisdom to impart:
“I’m also 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,” Michelle Obama said.
Equally important is the ongoing need to support arts and culture in education. Shortly after the unveiling of these portraits, the current President has called for ending funding to public media and television and the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities to be eliminated entirely. We cannot let this happen.