Picturing the Obamas (2022)

Viewers learn from curators journalists and art critics about the ways in which the Obamas portraits commissioned by the Smithsonians National Portrait Gallery disrupt traditional presidential portraiture and spur museums to reach new audiences The paintings of the excommander in chief and first lady by artists Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald were revealed to much fanfare at the National Portrait Gallery in 2018 The portraits which drew record attendance to the Washington art museum have since traveled the country as part of a nationwide exhibition