Obama praises Michelle’s ‘hotness’ as presidential portraits unveiled

The former United States president Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, have had their official portraits unveiled at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, with him praising his wife’s “hotness” in his speech. 

“I want to thank you for so spectacularly capturing the grace and beauty and intelligence and charm and hotness of the woman that I love,” Obama said.

The portraits will hang in the National Portrait Gallery collection of presidential portraits.  Barack Obama’s was painted by Kehinde Wiley and Michelle Obama’s by Amy Sherald. They were the first black artists ever to be commissioned for a presidential or first lady portrait for the Smithsonian.  

Barack Obama is positioned in a brown chair with a leafy backdrop.  Michelle Obama wears a flowing geometric dress the epitome of style that she displayed as first lady.

 

As a young girl, even in my wildest dreams, I never could have imagined this moment. Nobody in my family has ever had a portrait – there are no portraits of the Robinsons or the Shields from the South Side of Chicago. This is all a little bit overwhelming, especially when I think about all of the young people who will visit the National Portrait Gallery and see this, including so many young girls and young girls of color who don’t often see their images displayed in beautiful and iconic ways. I am so proud to help make that kind of history. But the fact is that none of this would be possible without the extraordinary artist and woman behind this portrait, @asherald. Thank you, Amy – it was a joy to work with you and get to know you.

A post shared by Michelle Obama (@michelleobama) on Feb 12, 2018 at 9:58am PST

Obama said his artist was at a disadvantage because his subject was “less becoming”. “I tried to negotiate less grey hair and Kehinde’s artistic integrity would not allow him to do what I asked,” Obama joked. “I tried to negotiate smaller ears — struck out on that as well.”

 

Today, @KehindeWiley and @ASherald became the first black artists to create official presidential portraits for the Smithsonian. To call this experience humbling would be an understatement. Thanks to Kehinde and Amy, generations of Americans — and young people from all around the world — will visit the National Portrait Gallery and see this country through a new lens. They’ll walk out of that museum with a better sense of the America we all love. Clear-eyed. Big-hearted. Inclusive and optimistic. And I hope they’ll walk out more empowered to go and change their worlds.

A post shared by Barack Obama (@barackobama) on Feb 12, 2018 at 9:34am PST

The significance of the moment was not lost on Michelle Obama, who later posted a photo on Instagram.

“As a young girl, even in my wildest dreams, I never could have imagined this moment. Nobody in my family has ever had a portrait – there are no portraits of the Robinsons or the Shields from the South Side of Chicago,” she said. “This is all a little bit overwhelming, especially when I think about all of the young people who will visit the National Portrait Gallery and see this, including so many young girls and young girls of color who don’t often see their images displayed in beautiful and iconic ways. I am so proud to help make that kind of history.”