By: Kyrie Sismaet By: Kyrie Sismaet | June 10, 2022 | People Politics Culture Celebrity Art Events Women of Influence Latest
Having graciously toured around the nation at the Art Institute of Chicago, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, and more, the iconic presidential portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama are set to make its grand presence at our DeYoung Museum before returning to its incredible home at Washington D.C.'s National Portrait Gallery.
These legendary portraits will be on display at the unmissable Golden Gate Park museum all summer from June 18 to August 14, 2022, inviting everyone in the Bay to take a sunny day to come out and view their impeccable details and learn all about their background.
See also: Obama Portraits Are Coming to SF: Here's the Lowdown
The portraits' arrival will kick off with a magnificent Opening Day Celebration on Saturday June 18th beginning right at noon, which includes exquisite live music by talented cellist and vocalist Mia Pixley, accompanied with dance performances and free portrait sessions. The instillation will also feature an exclusive video which showcases the curator and two artists discussing their artworks' impact, significance, and power.
First premiered at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in February of 2018, these stunning masterpieces are historically monumental for being the first ever to be commissioned and created by African American artists. These talented visionaries are Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, who have consisitently advocated for greater and accurate representation of Black history and identity in Western art.
While the two artists worked separately, they both perfectly captured the essence of the then-presidental couple, sharing the determined mission to creatively reinvigorate the centuries-long tradition of depicting our nation's leaders in a more modernized and personally-detailed reinvention.
Wiley illuminates a seated Barack Obama sans suit and tie gazing powerfully forward amid a colofrul backdrop pf his home state of Illinois' state flower- the chrysanthemum. There are also jasmines and purple African lilies, paying tribute to his other upbringings in Hawaii and Kenya, respectively.
For former First Lady Michelle Obama, Sherald placed her in a minimalist light-blue background in a contemplative pose. She is adorned with a dress by Milly designer Michelle Smith which is patterned with abstract quilt patches inspired from the Gee’s Bend community of quilters who preserve the craft in Alabama.
Director and CEO of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Tom Campbell proudly remarks, “Kehinde Wiley’s portrait of former President Barack Obama and Amy Sherald’s portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama are groundbreaking American portraits that speak to the sense of hope and possibility that the Obamas inspire."
By acknowledging how both Wiley and Sherald are trailblazers in pivotally expanding and critiquing traditional representations of American power in Western portraiture, he affirms, "we are thrilled that Bay Area audiences will have the opportunity to experience these powerful, iconic paintings in person at the de Young museum."
To have the striking portraits hosted at the DeYoung also bears honor for San Francisco, as the museum holds one of the largest collections of American art with over a thousand pieces ranging from today back to the 17th century.
“‘The Obama Portraits Tour’ is an opportunity to bring the power of portraiture to different audiences across the nation,” the director of the National Portrait Gallery Kim Sajet remarks, explaining "We are delighted to be able to extend this experience to San Francisco and Boston for a tour spanning eight cities with the nation’s capital included.”
We can't wait to have the prestigious honor of being the summer home of these portraits! more information can be found here.
Photography by: Scott Olson/Getty Images
