Obama presidential portraits – latest: Biden hails Barack’s legacy as Michelle Obama has dig at Trump

Former First Lady Michelle Obama has tweeted out her thanks to artist Sharon Sprung who painted her, describing her as a “brilliant artist who joins a small, but mighty group of women who have painted an official White House portrait”.

She also posted a video about the creative process.

People are praising the “stunning” portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama after they were unveiled during a White House ceremony.

On Wednesday, the Obamas returned to the executive mansion, more than five years after moving out, to share their official White House portraits.

The Independent’s Chelsea Ritschel reports on the reaction to the latest additions to the White House collection.

First Lady Michelle Obama wears a formal blue dress and is seated on a sofa in the Red Room. Her portrait was also painted entirely from photographs that were taken by artist Sharon Sprung in various locations on the State Floor of the White House.

Sharon Sprung (b.1953) has taught at both the Art Students League of New York and the National Academy School for the past 30 years. Her paintings and portraits have been exhibited since the late 1970s, including many one-person shows in New York City. Through her work on the small details of her subjects, such as their eyes, nose, or lips, she gets to know her sitters.

Her paintings are jewel-like in their color palettes, a credit that she gives to her use of Vasari handmade paint. By methodically manipulating the layers of paint, she works to mimic the complexity of real life in her portrait compositions.’

Former President Barack Obama thank Robert McCurdy, the artist who painted his official White House portrait.

“Robert is known for his paintings of public figures, and I love how he paints people exactly the way they are,” said Mr Obama in a tweet, including a video on the creative process behind the production of the latest additions to the White House collection.

President Barack Obama, dressed in a black suit with a grey tie, stands prominently at the center of the canvas. The photorealistic portrait was painted entirely from photographs that were taken by the artist, Robert McCurdy, during a short photo session. It is his preference to work from images rather than sketches completed during sittings.

Robert McCurdy (b.1952) spends at least a year on each of his photorealist portraits. His meticulously rendered works capture every minute detail, down to the fibers on his subjects’ clothing. The stark white backgrounds of his portraits allow the viewer to establish a relationship with the subject; the focus shifts from the celebrity status of the individual to the viewer’s direct response to that individual as a human being. The composition also allows the viewer to establish their own meaning and interaction.

McCurdy’s commissions include many notable subjects; Toni Morrison, Jane Goodall, Muhammad Ali, and Neil Armstrong are among his sitters.

The American artist whom former President Barack Obama selected to paint his official White House portrait says the “stripped down” style of his works helps create an “encounter” between the person in the painting and the person looking at it.

Robert McCurdy likes to present his subjects without any facial expression and standing against a white background, which is how America’s 44th and first Black president will be seen for posterity, in a black suit and gray tie, when his portrait is finally revealed on Wednesday.

The former first lady chose artist Sharon Sprung to do her portrait. She is depicted seated on a sofa in the Red Room, wearing a formal light blue dress.

Former president Barack Obama returned to the White House on Wednesday for the unveiling of his and Michelle Obama’s official portraits, offering strong words of praise and support for the man who served as his Vice President for eight years, President Joe Biden.

Andrew Feinberg watched the unveiling and speeches.