The Obama Presidential Center Unveils Official Portrait of President Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama by internationally renowned artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby
Weaving together archival imagery, family albums, and cultural touchstones, the new portrait memorializes the couple’s journey and honors their legacy for generations to come.
The Obama Foundation today unveiled the first official portrait of President and Mrs. Obama, painted by Njideka Akunyili Crosby. The painting is exhibited in the Museum’s Hope and Change Lobby, a public space that requires no ticket.
Entitled The Obamas: Springing Forth, 2026, the artist unveiled the piece to President and Mrs. Obama for the first time on June 14, 2026.
Akunyili Crosby’s portrait of the Obamas is based on an original photograph taken by the artist and portrays the Obamas within a formal yet intimate scene. Weaving together archival images, family albums, historical ephemera, and symbolic elements, the work connects the Obamas to the many generations of artists, activists, and citizens who helped pave their way to the White House and sustained them through two terms and into the present day.
Central to Akunyili Crosby’s practice is archival research and overlapping historical and personal references. Her signature process of using photo transfers allows for archival imagery to become a layer in which her paintings are often built upon.
The first official painted portrait of President and Mrs. Obama together, the work memorializes their journey to the White House while honoring their legacy for generations to come.
The painting includes numerous significant symbols and historic references for viewers to discover; among them:
Mrs. Obama’s childhood home on Euclid Ave., with her father’s beloved 1970 bronze, 2-door Buick Electra 225 hardtop coupe.
The carved relief pattern of the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. A replica of the Resolute Desk is featured in the replica Oval Office in the Obama Presidential Center Museum.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. bust by the Harlem Renaissance artist Charles Alston, which was displayed in the Oval Office during the Obama administration (featured in the replica Oval Office in the Obama Presidential Center Museum).
The cover of Stevie Wonder’s album Talking Book, the first album Mrs. Obama received. It was a gift from her maternal grandfather, Mr. Pernell Shields, a.k.a. “Southside.” The Obamas danced to this album at their wedding, and a copy is displayed in the Museum.
Small charms that were gifts from constituents to President Obama, who carried them with him. A selection of charms is also on display in the Museum.
A vase modeled after those made by Dave the Potter and filled with symbolic flowering plants and vegetables, including okra, coral hibiscus, torch ginger, petunia, plumeria. All the plants have symbolic ties to the Obamas.
An array of significant items on the bookshelf, including the Obamas’ four Grammys, a framed photograph from the March on Washington, a basketball, books they love and books they have authored, and numerous others.
In addition to those symbols and references, Akunyili Crosby also drew on a vast historical record for her signature image transfers that are layered throughout the work, ensuring all viewers have the opportunity to recognize moments that are important to them or spark their curiosity to learn more. Akunyili Crosby selected images that span the Civil Rights movement in the United States, the Obama Presidency and the Obamas’ personal histories, Chicago landmarks, political activists, artists, musicians, friends and family. As a result, viewers themselves will be drawn in as they explore the work and discover connections of their own.
The Obama Presidential Center’s grand opening celebrations will begin on June 18 and last through June 21:
June 18: Dedication Ceremony on the John Lewis Plaza, with global livestream featuring legendary performances by global icons and powerful remarks from today’s most prominent voices
June 19: Campus and Museum Open to the Public
June 20 and 21: Community Celebrations Throughout Campus
This announcement joins previously announced site-specific commissions by over 30 artists, including Lindsay Adams, Mark Bradford, Tyanna J. Buie, María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Nekisha Durrett, Spencer Finch, Theaster Gates, Jeffrey Gibson, Jay Heikes, Jenny Holzer, Richard Hunt, Rashid Johnson, Idris Khan, Maya Lin, Julie Mehretu, Hugo McCloud, Aliza Nisenbaum, Jack Pierson, Martin Puryear, Alison Saar, Lorna Simpson, Kiki Smith, Norman Teague, Carrie Mae Weems, with collaborations between Nick Cave and Marie Watt, and Sam Kirk and Dorian Sylvain.
The artist commissions are curated by Virginia Shore, Curator of the Obama Presidential Center Art Commissions.
More information about the full scope of the Center’s commissioned art offerings can be found at obama.org.
Njideka Akunyili Crosby is a painter whose large-scale works express the hybrid characteristic nature of the transnational experience through choices of subject matter, materials, and techniques. Crosby was born in Nigeria in 1983. She earned a BA from Swarthmore College in 2004, a post-Baccalaureate Certificate in 2006 from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and an MFA from Yale University in 2011.
The Obama Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world. That mission begins on the South Side of Chicago, where the Foundation is building the Obama Presidential Center.
The Obama Presidential Center represents a historic opportunity for Chicago: a chance to build a world-class museum and public gathering space that celebrates our nation’s first African American President and First Lady, steps away from where he began his career, where she was raised, and where — together — they made their home. Not only will the Center generate billions of dollars of economic opportunity and help reconnect and revitalize Jackson Park, it will also serve as a reminder to young visitors — from around the city and from around the world — that their potential is limitless.
