Topline
The Obamas returned to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Wednesday for the long-awaited (and long-delayed) unveiling ceremony of their official White House portraits, the first time the tradition has taken place in a decade.
Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama unveil their official White House … [+] portraits during a ceremony in the East Room.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Key Facts
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden hosted the ceremony, which marked the first joint return to the White House for the Obamas since they left in 2017 following the Trump inauguration (The Obamas received a standing ovation when they arrived for the ceremony).
For his portrait, former President Barack Obama selected artist Robert McCurdy, an American known for his photo-realistic portraits of famous figures like the 14th Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu, saying he was drawn to McCurdy’s style to depict subjects “exactly as they are, for better or for worse.”
Obama is presented in the portrait in typical McCurdy style, facing the viewer head-on wearing a suit in front of a plain white background.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s portrait was painted by Sharon Sprung, a Brooklyn-based artist that specializes in portraits of the female form who painted the former first lady in a blue gown reclining in what appears to be the Red Room of the White House.
Wednesday’s ceremony was long overdue— when a president and first lady leave the White House, their immediate successors usually welcome them back for an often bipartisan ceremony to unveil the portraits, a tradition former President Donald Trump bucked during his administration, reportedly over his poor relationship with Obama.
The Covid-19 pandemic also forced the ceremony to be pushed back, White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin told CNN, saying it was important for the portraits to be placed on display when the public is able to visit and see them in person (public tours of the White House were only reinstated in April).
Robert McCurdy’s portrait of Barack Obama.
White House Historical Association/White House Collection
Key Background
The last time a set of portraits were unveiled at the White House was in 2012, when former President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush’s portraits were revealed in a ceremony hosted by the Obamas. “We may have our differences politically, but the presidency transcends those differences,” Barack Obama said at the time. The White House portraits shouldn’t be confused with the collection at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, the only complete collection of presidential and first lady portraits outside of the White House. In 2018, portraits of Barack Obama and Michelle Obama by artists Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, respectively, were installed before the couple left the White House. The paintings were later sent to other art institutions as part of a popular national tour.
Michelle Obama’s portrait by Sharon Sprung.
White House Historical Association/White House Collection
Tangent
The Obama return to the White House comes amid tension between the Obama and Biden camps, according to the Washington Post. Some Biden staffers are “resentful” that Obama didn’t support Biden’s presidential run more and are frustrated by what they say is a lack of respect, while Obama loyalists say Biden staffers brag that they have “avoided the mistakes” of Obama’s Administration, including a failure to publicize the president’s accomplishments, the newspaper reported. The White House denied “the idea of any tension” between the presidents and their camps, according to the Washington Post.
Further Reading
Why Trump’s Portrait Won’t Hang Near Obama’s For Long (Forbes)
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