I have made one trip to my local museum to see the portraits and it was fun to be able to do so with no barriers. I appreciated that. Due to covid concerns and the lack of mandatory masking I skipped reading the writing on the walls and the longer film. I wanted to read this book before I went back to see the portraits again and to read everything written on the walls of that room and to see the full video. I’m glad that I did. I’ll appreciate the exhibit more when I return. The book is fascinating and entertaining and informative. There is so much to it. I felt as though I got to participate at the Unveiling and felt like a witness to history. The book has wonderful essays and great photos, and not just of the Obamas and the portrait artists. This is a fine book. It’s a beautiful book and its entire design is lovely and befitting the subject. I was surprised by how touched I was as I read it and I feel privileged to see the portraits in person. Someday I’d love to go to D.C. I could spend many days seeing all the museums I’d like to see and that includes the National Portrait Gallery.

Contents:

Foreword
by Kim Sajet

Unveiling the Unconventional: Kehinde Wiley’s Portrait of Barack Obama
by Taina Caragol

“Radical Empathy”: Amy Sherald’s Portrait of Michelle Obama
By Dorothy Moss

The Obama Portraits, In Art History and Beyond
By Richard J. Powell

The Obama Portraits and the National Portrait Gallery as a Site of Secular Pilgrimage
By Kim Sajet

The Presentation of the Obama Portraits: A Transcript of the Unveiling Ceremony

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Credits ( )