“The Obama Portraits” Are Coming to SF’s de Young Museum This Summer

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery’s “The Obama Portraits Tour” will be coming to the de Young Museum.

The exhibition will be on view June 18 – August 14, 2022.

From the moment of their unveiling at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in February 2018, the official portraits of President Barack Obama and Mrs. Michelle Obama became iconic. The artists behind the portraits, Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, have throughout their careers addressed the lack of Black representation in Western art history, using portraiture to explore complex issues of identity. Wiley and Sherald are the first African Americans to be commissioned by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery to create official portraits of a president or first lady.

This nationwide tour is expected to reach millions who might not otherwise have an opportunity to view these remarkable paintings. The de Young is thrilled to be part of this special presentation highlighting the power of portraiture and its potential to engage communities.

The portraits previously visited the Art Institute of Chicago, Brooklyn Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. After their San Francisco presentation, they’ll make their final stop at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, before heading back home to the National Portrait Gallery.

Read more at the de Young.