The Obama Portraits Start National Tour in Chicago in June 2021

ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO
(Left) Barack Obama, 2018 Kehinde Wiley. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; and ((Right) Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama, 2018 Amy Sherald. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.
CHICAGO -- In summer 2021, the Art Institute of Chicago welcomes two acclaimed portraits to its galleries: Kehinde Wiley’s painting of President Barack Obama and Amy Sherald’s portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama. On loan from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, the Obama portraits come to Chicago for the first stop of a five-city tour. Not only do the portraits feature history-making subjects but they were made by groundbreaking artists. Wiley and Sherald are the first African Americans to be commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery to create official portraits of a President or First Lady. [More]

Art Institute of Chicago: "The Obama Portraits" (Jun 18–Aug 15, 2021); 111 South Michigan Avenue Chicago, IL; (312) 443-3600; artic.edu
Barack Obama, 2018 Kehinde Wiley. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. The National Portrait Gallery is grateful to the following lead donors: Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg; Judith Kern and Kent Whealy; Tommie L. Pegues and Donald A. Capoccia. © 2018 Kehinde Wiley