Former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama returned to the White House on Wednesday for the unveiling of their official White House portraits. The event marked the first official portrait unveiling at the White House in a decade, when the Obamas hosted former President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush.
The official White House portrait of the nation’s 44th president, created by Robert McCurdy, features Obama in a suit and silver tie against a plain, white background. Michelle Obama’s official White House portrait, painted by Sharon Sprung, shows the former first lady sitting on a red couch wearing a light blue, off-the-shoulder dress.
“When future generations walk these halls and look up at these portraits, I hope they get a better, honest sense of who Michelle and I were,” the former president said at the unveiling. “I hope they leave with a deeper understanding that if we could make it here, maybe they can too — they can do remarkable things too.”
This post was produced by Rachel Liesendahl, Kenichi Serino, Julia Griffin, and Dan Cooney.
Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG
Find more from PBS NewsHour at https://www.pbs.org/newshour
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6
Follow us:
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pbsnews
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/newshour
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/newshour
Facebook: http://www.pbs.org/newshour
Subscribe:
PBS NewsHour podcasts: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/podcasts
Newsletters: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/subscribe
