On Monday, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery unveiled portraits our former president Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama.
The unveiling is part a long tradition where former presidents have their paintings hanging in the National Portrait Gallery. Barack’s image will hang in the Hall Presidents while Michelle’s will find a home in another gallery.
The presidential couple put a lot thought into who would paint them. After going through two dozen portfolios, Barack finally settled on Kehinde Wiley, while Michelle chose Amy Sherald. Both artists have had work seen across the world, with Kehinde’s paintings even appearing in episodes Empire.
You can check out the two historical unveilings below!