= new reply since forum marked as read
Perfect 
I thought that these were the official portraits?
America’s Presidents
https://npg.si.edu/exhibition/americas-presidents-reopened
“America’s Presidents” is newly refurbished with improved lighting and paint, new labels and wall texts, and the addition of interactive touch screens that allow people to explore the context of each presidency and access other visual material. The new, entirely bilingual (English and Spanish) and accessible presentation includes extraordinary works of art, notably Gilbert Stuart’s “Lansdowne” portrait of President George Washington.
Having designed a fresh exhibition layout for “America’s Presidents,” the Portrait Gallery has grouped the portraits into six historical chapters. Each of the first five sections is organized around a historical era and leads off with a presidential figure: Washington, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, while a sixth section examines the more recent history of the presidency. Updated content provides visitors with improved ways to understand historical events—both national and international—that coincided with the respective President’s time in office.
https://americaspresidents.si.edu/gallery
Sorry, but it doesn't work for me. Love the dress but to me the face seems kind of wooden and not really "her." Skin tone seems off, too. To each their own, I guess. 
I love both portraits of Obama and the WH one of Michelle.
and elegant.
You do realise that Obama himself had complete control over the whole process?
BTW, I LOVE the painting.
It's not my favorite style. But imagine this portrait in situ in the WH. I'm thinking it will dominate its setting, and he will command attention.
"What I love about Robert's work is that he paints people exactly the way they are, for better or worse," Barack told a lively crowd after the unveiling. "You'll note that he refused to hide any of my gray hairs, refused my request to make my ears smaller. He also talked me out of wearing a tan suit."
Lol, I don't think so.
a shallow schtick, an artistic scam that fills a niche. I hope we'll see all their official portraits within a couple of years. Maybe it'll be more "wow" in person.
I wouldn't even consider the artist, though. I want paintings to offer something different, and my own humility would seek a little generosity from the artist too. 
Half of his face is in shadow. Is that supposed to be some type of symbolism? It doesn't do anything for me, but then I'm not usually consulted for White House portraits. 
really, few people care what art critics have to say about this piece. I know I don’t.
The distance from the top of the painting to the subject's head, where he cuts the body off at the same point between the hips and the knees, the amount of 'whitespace' on each side of the person. The right side of the subject's face (from the viewer's perspective) in the light, and the left side in shadow. One really knows what to expect from him, for better or worse.
I like it!
It also serves as a nice contrast to his portrait hanging in the National Portrait Gallery.
Painted years after Kennedy's tragic death, the aesthetic of the painting was shaped by the president's widow, Jackie. "The only stipulation she made," Shikler told People in 1981, "was, ‘I don’t want him to look the way everybody else makes him look, with the bags under his eyes and that penetrating gaze. I’m tired of that image.'"
Shikler turned to photographs of the late president to prepare the initial sketches, but he eventually choose an image of Ted Kennedy at his brother's grave, to serve as a loose inspiration for the work. According to People, "When Jackie saw the sketch, she chose it over several others at once. 'Let’s do this one,'" she said.
But the style of the painting wasn't meant to evoke Kennedy's death.
"I painted him with his head bowed, not because I think of him as a martyr, but because I wanted to show him as a president who was a thinker," Mr. Shikler told The Washington Post in 1971. "A thinking president is a rare thing."
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I find it absolutely stunning.
I'm afraid this white background will give the photo-shoppers an easy target. They won't even have to silhouette him because the work is already done. So I wish the artist had used some kind of official-looking background, just to make Obama look more "Presidential."
Even so, Obama is a great-looking man.
in our WH!!
Couldn't be better.
Just like the man himself.
get enough of this! :
Last edited Mon Sep 12, 2022, 08:55 AM - Edit history (2)
There is one thing I can be grateful to Trump for -- keeping these away from the White House:
Rocknation
Just as a thorn in the side of any republican who might visit the White House in the future. 😉
As the portrait exists, it's a magnificent representation of a handsome, intelligent, honest, determined, and dedicated African American man who lead our country for eight wonderful years.
I love it.
would be like trying to stitch 300 pounds of Jello into a 3 square foot piece of gauze. Even if you could do it, it's always going to look like crap and the Jello is always going to ooze out of every tiny hole there is.
The only thing Trump would look good in is a casket. 
to form a conclusion. However, in the absence of that info, it's obviously a nicely done painting. It captures his thoughtful personality, and maybe the weight that was on his shoulders... but I guess what's throwing me off is that 1/3 of his face is shadowed out.
that guy hiding in his jammies in NJ doesn't hold a straw to him..not a one.
why not use one of Pete Souza's great photographs? There's no rule that says it has to be a painting. In the McCurdy Obama just looks worn and tired. There's nothing of his optimism and energy there.
