The Obamas unveiled their museum portraits in February 2018. Those portraits of the Obamas — done by Amy Sherald and Kehinde Wiley — were unveiled at Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery will extend “The Obama Portraits Tour” through October. The original five-city tour featuring the portraits of former President Barack Obama and Mrs. Michelle Obama by artists Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, respectively, will incorporate two additional cities with presentations at the de Young Museum in San Francisco (June 18–Aug. 14) and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Sept. 3–Oct. 30). The paintings will return on view in Washington, D.C., with celebrations at the Portrait Gallery in early November.
“The very presentation of ‘The Obama Portraits Tour’ and the collaboration of eight premier institutions—the Portrait Gallery included—amidst a global pandemic speaks to the power of portraiture to bring audiences together,” said Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery. “We look forward to furthering engaging West Coast audiences with the tour’s presentation at the de Young Museum, and exploring these contemporary paintings in the context of Boston’s longstanding tradition of portraiture during their time at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.”