Taina Beatriz Caragol-Barreto - The Obama Portraits

THE OBAMA
PORTRAITS

Tana Caragol, Dorothy Moss,
Richard J. Powell, and Kim Sajet

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
WASHINGTON, DC

IN ASSOCIATION WITH PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
PRINCETON AND OXFORD

Kim Sajet
vi

Tana Caragol
1

Dorothy Moss
25

Richard J. Powell
51

Kim Sajet
83

The Presentation of the Obama Portraits:
A Transcript of the Unveiling Ceremony
98

129

137

139

Shortly before the National Portrait Gallery installed the portraits of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, the head of our design and production team met with me to discuss installing stanchions to protect the paintings and manage the large crowds in the galleries. Never one to put barriers between people and art, I remember asking, Dont you think we might be going a little overboard? In a perfect example of listening to the advice of people who are smarter than you are, I am so glad my colleagues were insistent. The stanchions are still there todaytwo years later! Not only was I wrong, I was spectacularly wrong. So many people wanted to see the portrait of Michelle Obamafirst installed at the G Street entrance of the museumthat access to the museum was heavily impeded and our visitor desk was constantly overwhelmed. Within two weeks, we had to move it to a more spacious gallery, and while I knew that this change in location would be welcome news to the museums staff and Smithsonian security, that it made national news left me incredulous. How many times does moving a painting from one location to another within the same building draw so much attention?!

That initial excitement and the publics continuing deep interest in the Obama portraits are what led to this publication. The book includes the perspectives of Dorothy Moss and Tana Caragol, the National Portrait Gallery curators who shepherded the commissions; a wonderful essay on the portraits in relation to art history by the eminent scholar and friend Rick Powell, the John Spencer Bassett Professor of Art and Art History at Duke University; and a transcript of the unveiling ceremony, among other insightful content. With rare behind-the-scenes photographs, I am confident that this handsome book will serve as a collectors item for those who love the pictures as much as we do.

I would like to thank everyone who helped bring the portraits into being or participated in bringing this publication to fruition. From our board members and donors to the artists, curators, and writers, and, of course, the Obamas themselves, who were the inspiration for these endeavors, I am so appreciative. This moment, however, also affords the opportunity to thank all the many unsung professionals at the National Portrait Gallery and across the Smithsonian who madeand continue to makethe magic happen. Of particular importance are the men and women in uniform who guard the paintings seven days a week, eight hours a day, 364 days a year. As people pose for selfies and excitedly point to their favorite elements, our security officers provide a welcoming and safe atmosphere for everyone who drops by.

It is one thing to believe in the power of art to bring people together, spark critical conversations, and help change the world; and quite another to actually witness it unfolding in front of your eyes. Not over decades, but over days. Now, with this publication, published in partnership with Princeton University Press, we can relive the moments and continue the discourse about the art of leadershipliterally and figuratively. To paraphrase John Quincy Adams, may this book inspire leaders to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, both now and into the future.

Kehinde Wiley, Barack Obama, 2018. Oil on canvas, 84 57 in. (213.7 147 cm). National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg; Judith Kern and Kent Whealy; Tommie L. Pegues and Donald A. Capoccia; Clarence, DeLoise, and Brenda Gaines; The Stoneridge Fund of Amy and Marc Meadows; Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker; Catherine and Michael Podell; Mark and Cindy Aron; Lyndon J. Barrois and Janine Sherman Barrois; The Honorable John and Louise Bryson; Paul and Rose Carter; Bob and Jane Clark; Lisa R. Davis; Shirley Ross Davis and Family; Alan and Lois Fern; Conrad and Constance Hipkins; Sharon and John Hoffman; Daniel and Kimberly Johnson; John Legend and Chrissy Teigen; Eileen Harris Norton; Helen Hilton Raiser; Philip and Elizabeth Ryan; Roselyne Chroman Swig; Josef Vascovitz and Lisa Goodman; Michele J. Hooper and Lemuel Seabrook III; The Skylark Foundation; Cleveland and Harriette Chambliss; Anna Chavez and Eugene Eidenberg; Carla Diggs and Stephen M. Smith; Danny First; Peggy Woodford Forbes and Harry Bremond; Stephen Friedman Gallery; Sean and Mary Kelly, Sean Kelly Gallery; Jamie Lunder; Joff Masukawa and Nolle Kennedy Masukawa; Derek McGinty and Cheryl Cooper; Robert and Jan Newman; The Raymond L. Ocampo Jr. and Sandra O. Ocampo Family Trust; Julie and Bennett Roberts; Paul Sack; Gertrude Dixon Sherman; Michael and Mary Silver; V. Joy Simmons, MD; Andrea Lavin Solow and Alan P. Solow; John Sykes; Galerie Templon; Henry L. Thaggert III

Amy Sherald, Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama, 2018. Oil on linen, 72 60 in. (183.2 152.7 cm). National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg; Judith Kern and Kent Whealy; Tommie L. Pegues and Donald A. Capoccia; Clarence, DeLoise, and Brenda Gaines; Jonathan and Nancy Lee Kemper; The Stoneridge Fund of Amy and Marc Meadows; Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker; Catherine and Michael Podell; Mark and Cindy Aron; Lyndon J. Barrois and Janine Sherman Barrois; The Honorable John and Louise Bryson; Paul and Rose Carter; Bob and Jane Clark; Lisa R. Davis; Shirley Ross Davis and Family; Alan and Lois Fern; Conrad and Constance Hipkins; Sharon and John Hoffman; Audrey M. Irmas; John Legend and Chrissy Teigen; Eileen Harris Norton; Helen Hilton Raiser; Philip and Elizabeth Ryan; Roselyne Chroman Swig; Josef Vascovitz and Lisa Goodman; Eileen Baird; Dennis and Joyce Black Family Charitable Foundation; Shelley Brazier; Aryn Drake-Lee; Andy and Teri Goodman; Randi Charno Levine and Jeffrey E. Levine; Fred M. Levin and Nancy Livingston, The Shenson Foundation; Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago; Arthur Lewis and Hau Nguyen; Sara and John Schram; Alyssa Taubman and Robert Rothman

On February 12, 2018, the Smithsonians National Portrait Gallery unveiled the portraits of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. The White House and the museum had worked together to commission the paintings, and, in many ways, the lead-up to the ceremony had followed tradition. But this time something was different. The atmosphere was infused with the coolness of the there-present Obamas, and the event, which was made memorable with speeches from the sitters, the artists, and Smithsonian officials, erupted with applause at the first glimpse of these two highly unconventional portraits. Kehinde Wileys portrait of the president portrays a man of extraordinary presence, sitting on an ornate chair in the midst of a lush botanical setting (p. ix). Amy Sheralds portrait presents a statuesque and contemplative first lady, posed in front of a sky-blue background (p. xi).