Former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle returned to the White House for the official unveiling of their presidential portraits.

President Obama entered the ceremony in the White House’s East Room side-by-side with President Joe Biden. Michelle followed closely behind, flanked by First Lady Jill Biden.

‘Barack and Michelle – welcome home!’ President Biden said as he took the podium to speak on Wednesday afternoon.

‘With Barack as our president, we got up every day to work full of hope,’ he said. ‘There are few people I’ve ever known with more integrity, decency, and courage than Barack Obama.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a webbrowser thatsupports HTML5video

‘We trusted him, we believed in him, and we counted on him. And I still do.’

President Biden also thanked the former president for his eulogy at his son Beau’s funeral.

‘You’ll never fully understand how much it meant to me and Jill,’ he said while notably tearing up.

Barack and Michelle unveiled their portraits simultaneously.

Barack can be seen in his standing, wearing a dark suit surrounded by a completely white background.

In her portrait, Michelle can be seen on a red couch, wearing a light blue dress.

‘As far as I could tell – nobody in my family tree had never sat for a portrait before. And now we’ve done it twice,’ Barack said after revealing his portrait.

Barack praised artist Sharon Sprung, who he said ‘captured everything I love about Michelle’.

‘Her grace, her intelligence, and the fact that she’s fine,’ he said to laughter.

He called his own portrait ‘a much more difficult subject’, and thanked the artist, Robert McCurdy.

Barack praised McCurdy’s devotion to photorealism when painting him.

‘Presidents so often get airbrushed, and take on a mythical status. (McCurdy) captures every wrinkle on your face, every wrinkle on your shirt,’ he said.

Barack joked: ‘He refused to hide any of my gray hairs, he refused my request to make my ears smaller. He also talked me out of wearing a tan suit.’

Michelle praised Sprung, who she said ‘joins a small but mighty group of women who have painted a portrait here at the White House’.

Michelle also remarked on the permanence of the portraits as symbols.

‘Traditions like this matter. Once our time is up, we move on. And all that remains in this hallowed place are our good efforts and these portraits,’ she said.

‘For me this day is not just about what has happened, but also about what could happen. Because a girl like me, she was never supposed to be up there next to Jacqueline Kennedy and Dolley Madison.’

Presidential portraits are usually painted with oils and are traditionally unveiled after they leave office. The last portrait unveiling was for former President George W Bush in 2012, during President Obama’s second term in office.

However, there is no official process for the unveiling.

‘It’s really up to the current president in the White House and the former president that is portrayed in the portrait to determine the right moment, but there is no set timeline,’ said White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin.

The White House Historical Society said ‘the portrait artists aim to capture each unique appearance and personality, piecing together our presidential history through these individual works of art’.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Source: Read Full Article