Painters Robert McCurdy and Sharon Sprung are behind the official images.
As is customary, the White House portraits are sponsored by the White House Historical Association. To coincide with the big moment, the association unveiled awith McCurdy and Sprung on its website, where they explain the artistic choices that went into the paintings, what they were trying to achieve, and what it was like to work with the former President and First Lady. We’ve broken out a few of the most revelatory bits from the interviews below.
“[Barack Obama] had seen other work that I had done—I think the Toni Morrison piece jumps to mind. I think that directness really appealed to him.”Michelle Obama, painted by Sharon Sprung. Courtesy of the White House Historical Association. 10) Sprung’s Career Was Inspired by the Painter Who Did White House Portraits of Jackie Kennedy and Nancy Reagan… He finally answered, and I went over to his house and he was somewhat helpful…. We later became more like peers, we had an acquaintance over the years. He asked me to model for him, which I didn’t do. And I also learned that portrait artists have bars in their studios, which I hadn’t anticipated. He had a beautiful studio and I was very impressed by his full bar.
And I knew it was done when she stated to breathe. That’s my goal in portrait paintings—it’s when the person starts to be alive to me and I can interact with them. Then I know I am close.”
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