Biden unveils official White House portraits of Barack, Michelle Obama
Sep 07, 2022
Washington [US], September 8 : President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden hosted former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama on Wednesday (local time) for the unveiling of their official White House portraits.
It was Michelle Obama's first visit to the White House since her husband left office in 2017. The former president visited the White House in April for a celebration of the anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act.
"Barack and Michelle, welcome home," Biden told the Obamas, adding, "Welcome home."
"It is great to be back," Obama said after their portraits were unveiled. "... Thank you so much for your hospitality. Thanks for letting us invite a few friends to the White House. We will try not to tear up the place."
Biden also lauded Barack Obama.
"Mr President, nothing could have prepared me better or more to become president of the United States than being at your side for eight years, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart," Mr. Biden told his predecessor.
Artist Robert McCurdy painted President Obama. Artist Sharon Sprung painted Michelle Obama.
"I want to thank Sharon Sprung for capturing everything I love about Michelle, her grace, her intelligence, and the fact that she's fine," Obama said, eliciting laughs and cheers from the audience. "And I want to thank Robert McCurdy for taking on a much more difficult subject, and doing a fantastic job with mine."
The portrait of the former president depicts him in a black suit with a grey tie, in a very realistic-looking portrayal derived from photographs McCurdy took. The portrait of Michelle Obama shows her in a blue dress, seated on a red sofa in the Red Room. Her portrait also draws entirely upon photos Sprung took.
"For me, this day is not just about what has happened," said Michelle Obama. "It's also about what could happen. Because a girl like me, she was never supposed to be up there next to Jacqueline Kennedy and Dolley Madison. She was never supposed to live in this house, and she definitely wasn't supposed to serve as first lady."
Presidents typically host their predecessors to unveil their formal portraits, but former President Trump upended that tradition, declining to welcome the Obamas back to the White House during his tenure. The Obamas hosted former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura at the White House in 2012.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre spoke about the upcoming event during a briefing on Tuesday.
The portraits of the Obamas were not unveiled at the White House during former President Donald Trump's term in office.
