Obama Portraits Heading to LACMA

The official paintings of Barack and Michelle Obama will be going on a tour, making a stop at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. 

The portraits went on display at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in 2018, and now will be making its way to five museums across the country, with LACMA being its third stop. 

Credit: Portrait by Amy Sherald/Courtesy of National Portrait Gallery

Mr. Obama’s portrait was done by Kehinde Wiley, a native of Los Angeles, while Amy Sherald painted Mrs. Obama’s. The portraits have been some of the most-visited works in the Gallery. The Obamas hand-picked their artists, and their choices were definitely well-made.

“We call it ‘the Obama effect,’ but I think it was a little bit more than just those pictures,” said Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery. “I think what happened was there was so much interest in them, but there was also an awakening across the country that the portrait gallery exists.”

The portraits will also make stops at the Art Institute of Chicago, Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York City, High Museum of Art in Atlanta, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. They will be on display at LACMA starting on November 2021 until January 2022.

By Michael Jacobo

Photo: Portrait by Kehinde Wiley/Courtesy of Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery