We usually would’ve seen them earlier, but Donald Trump had other plans.
The Obamas are back in the White House! But the good or bad news (depending on where you stand) is that they’ll only be sticking around as paintings on the wall.
The 44th president and first lady returned to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue on Wednesday for the unveiling of their official portraits. The duo was welcomed back with open arms (and a standing ovation) by the Biden administration, which marked a reunion of the president and vice-president team who served the country from 2008 to 2016. Just look at all that excited fanfare:
After remarks from President Biden (who gave the Obamas an enthusiastic greeting of “welcome home!”) it was time for the big reveal. Here’s a look at the presidential power couple’s first reaction to their artistic selves:
The former president’s portrait was painted by the artist Robert McCurdy, who’s known for the photorealistic style in which he painted this piece, featuring a lifelike image over a stark white background. He’s previously used the technique to paint icons like Toni Morrison, the Dalai Lama, and Muhammad Ali, and apparently Barack Obama has long been a dream subject.
“Obama was on the list we would have invited anyways,” McCurdy said. “So when this project came up, it was just perfect because it saved us the trouble of having to ask him.”
For his part, Obama seemed pretty pleased with how it turned out.
“What I love about Robert’s work is that he paints people exactly the way they are, for better or worse,” Obama said after the unveiling. “You’ll note that he refused to hide any of my gray hairs, refused my request to make my ears smaller. He also talked me out of wearing a tan suit.”
The accompanying portrait of Michelle Obama was made by artist Sharon Sprung, who took a much more colorful approach than McCurdy did, portraying the first lady in a beautiful blue gown on a bright red couch. In his remarks, the former president praised the image of his wife.
“I want to thank Sharon Sprung for capturing everything I love about Michelle,” he said. “Her grace, her intelligence — and the fact that she’s fine.”
It’s uncommon that the Obamas’ portraits are only now being unveiled, nearly six years since they left the White House. The usual tradition is that a president and first lady’s portraits are revealed during the term of that president’s successor, but in this case, that was Donald Trump, who has a well-known distaste for Obama and never scheduled the ceremony during his time in office.
Could that affect what happens with Trump and his wife Melania’s portraits now that another rival of theirs, Joe Biden, is in power? White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre didn’t give a definitive answer when she was asked about that during a press briefing this week.
“We defer those questions to the White House Historical Association,” Jean-Pierre said. “They lead the process on official portraits for both presidents and their spouses. So that question lies with them.”
