Barack and Michelle Obama open portraits of the president at the White House

Barack Obama And his wife, the former first lady Michelle Obamathey returned to the White House on Wednesday (7) to launch their official portraits, which were welcomed by their fellow Democrat, Joe Biden, more than five years after the ex-president left the government.

Official, large portraits of presidents and first ladies in United State It adorns walls, hallways, and rooms throughout the White House.

Usually, the former president returns for the inauguration during the term of his successor, but there has been no ceremony for Obama as a Republican. Donald Trump He was in the role of chief.

Previous portraits of Obama, which opened in 2018 and were displayed at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, have become a major tourist attraction.

Barack Obama next to a Michelle painting on September 7, 2022 – Photo: Evelyn Hochstein/Reuters

The Obama family selected black artists Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald to paint them, the museum’s first commissions by black artists for presidential portraits.

Trump, prior to his 2016 election victory and succeeding Obama in 2017, was a long-time supporter of the Birther movement that incorrectly suggested that Obama was not born in the United States. United State So he shouldn’t be the boss.

Stuart MacLaurin, president of the White House Historical Society, said there is no set process for presidential portraits.

“It is up to the current president of the White House and the former president who is in the picture to determine the appropriate time, but there is no set timetable,” he said.