Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald to paint Obamas’ official portraits

On Friday, 13 October, the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in Washington, DC announced that Kehinde Wiley will paint the museum’s official portrait commission of President Barack Obama, while First Lady Michelle Obama will be painted by Amy Sherald, who came in first in the NPG’s 2016 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. The portraits—which will be part of the NPG’s permanent collection—are due to be unveiled early next year, and President Obama’s will eventually hang with portraits of all 43 presidents before him in the NPG’s America’s Presidents Gallery. For the moment, 44’s spot in the gallery is held by a diptych of Woodburytype portraits by Chuck Close. The museum has a collection of portraits of many—but not all—of the former First Ladies, but Hillary Clinton was the first to have an official portrait commissioned by the museum.