The Obama Foundation revealed the first official portrait of Barack and Michelle Obama together, painted by Nigerian-born, Los Angeles-based artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby, the family’s philanthropic organization announced on Monday, June 15.
Akunyili Crosby’s large-scale painting of the couple, “Springing Forth” (2026), rendered in the artist’s signature photo-transfer technique, will be on view in the lobby of the $850 million Barack Obama Presidential Center, nicknamed the “Obamalisk,” joining other new commissions by artists including Idris Khan and María Magdalena Campos-Pons.
The Obama Foundation captured the former president and first lady’s first impressions of the artwork in a video on Monday.
“Before we get any commentary in,” the former president said, standing before the towering canvas, “we’ve got to soak it in.”
Akunyili Crosby based her portrait of the Obamas on a photograph she took of the couple. In the final work, Michelle is portrayed seated cross-legged just in front of Barack, who sits on a desk, subtly angled toward her.
Known for her layered compositions, Akunyili Crosby incorporated images of places and symbols that encapsulate the Obamas’ public and personal histories. Among these subtle and recognizable references is a portrayal of Michelle Obama’s Chicago childhood home and the Charles Alston Martin Luther King, Jr. bust that sat in the Oval Office during the former president’s terms. The artist also added tender, faded photos of the couple embracing one another.
“I wanted to make these decisions that tapped into those memories, so when you saw this, it felt familiar,” Akunyili Crosby told the Obamas.
The artist also incorporated plants with special significance to the couple, including okra and coral hibiscus, throughout the work, as well as references to the four combined Grammys they won for narrating audiobooks of their memoirs and a photograph of the 1963 March on Washington.
Michelle Obama praised the work as capturing “all the stories within the story.”
“Oh my god, you got everything. You know how long I’ve been waiting for this woman to do something with and for me?” said the former First Lady, hugging the artist. “I mean, we did it!”
The Barack Obama Presidential Center will open to the public this Friday, timed to Juneteenth.
