The Arts-Muse Fair

Kehinde Wiley. Photo credit: Tony Powell The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery yesterday said that it has commissioned the museum’s official portraits of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama, reports the the  ArtDaily .  Artist Kehinde Wiley—best known for his vibrant, large-scale paintings of African Americans—will create the portrait of President Obama. Amy Sherald, first-prize winner of the Portrait Gallery’s 2016 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, has been chosen to paint Mrs. Obama. The two portraits will be unveiled at the museum in early 2018 and will be added to the Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection. Over the course of his career, Wiley (b. Los Angeles, 1977), whom President Obama selected, has frequently portrayed young African American men wearing the latest in hip-hop street fashion. His rich, highly saturated colour palette and his use of decorative patterns complement his realistic, yet expressive, likenesses. T