Dora Akunyili’s Daughter, Njideka Akunyili Crosby , Paints Official Portrait of Barack and Michelle Obama.

The first official portrait of Barack Obama and Michelle Obama together was revealed yesterday in a private gathering at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. The painting, by Nigeria-born, Los Angeles-based artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby, is one of a multitude of landmark art commissions at the center, which will be inaugurated with a star-studded gala later this week and opens to the public on Juneteenth.

For our Summer issue, we visited Akunyili Crosby at her L.A. studio as she was in the process of completing this historic work and spoke with her about the instincts and ideas behind it. How does one approach painting a couple that is among the most photographed in the world, if not history?

“It’s something I’m still thinking about every day,” she says. At the link in our bio, she opens up to Bazaar about why capturing what the former president and first lady represent feels so important right now.  “Tradition is not untouchable,” she says. “We can own it, we can shape it, we can move it the way we need.”

–
Photography: @joshuawoods and @obamafoundation
Story: @laurenmichelejackson
Artwork: @njidekaakunyilicrosby