In March an exhibition of nearly 60 portraits by Paul Cézanne will land, after blockbuster showings in Paris and London, at the National Gallery of Art in Washington. Throughout history, artists from El Greco to John Singer Sargent to Andy Warhol have been called upon to paint the rich and famous many of these commissions have endured as admired works of art. MILLER MOBLEY/AUGUST (OBAMAS) AMY SHERALD/THE MAKE BELIEVER (MONET’S GARDEN)/2016/PRIVATE COLLECTION/CHICAGO/IMAGE COURTESY THE ARTIST AND MONIQUE MELOCHE GALLERY/CHICAGO (SHERALD PAINTING) ALIOS ITZHAK (FROM THE WORLD STAGE: ISRAEL)/2011/© KEHINDE WILEY/COLLECTION OF THE JEWISH MUSEUM/ NEW YORK/COURTESY ROBERTS & TILTON/CULVER CITY CALIFORNIA AND SEAN KELLY/NEW YORK (WILEY PAINTING) ART RESOURCE NY (WILEY PAINTING PHOTO) The Make Believer (right), 2016, by Amy Sherald. And while the former first couple’s choices of artist made headlines-it’s the first time black artists have been tapped to paint official presidential portraits for the Smithsonian the pictures will be unveiled on February 12-the fact that the Obamas were sitting to be painted for posterity makes them part of a long, proud tradition. Michelle Obama’s official portrait will be by the painter Amy Sherald, a rising talent whose first solo museum show will open in May at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Late last year it was announced that Obama’s official portrayal, which will hang in the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, will be painted by Kehinde Wiley, who is famous for recreating classical works to feature contemporary black subjects and whose paintings are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and LACMA. While pundits are still debating which of Barack Obama’s policies might make it through the current administration unscathed, the 44th president made one decision in recent months that will serve to cement his legacy for generations to come: He chose a portraitist.
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