Who painted Michelle Obama's official portrait?

Amy Sherald. It was unveiled at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in 2018.

Why does Amy Sherald paint skin in gray?

She uses grayscale for skin so the viewer encounters the person before assigning them a race.

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§ ARTIST · ARTS

Amy Sherald

Painter, the official portrait of Michelle Obama · b. 1973

AS

BORN: 1973
ERA: 2004 to Present
KNOWN FOR: Painter, the official portrait of Michelle Obama

§ THE SHORT VERSION

Amy Sherald, born in Columbus, Georgia, in 1973, painted the official portrait of Michelle Obama unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery in 2018. Her portraits of Black Americans set gray-toned skin against bold fields of color, at monumental scale.

Born in Columbus, Georgia, in 1973. Painted for years while working other jobs and recovering from a heart transplant, before the art world caught up.

THE PORTRAIT

Highlights.

01

Official portrait of Michelle Obama, National Portrait Gallery (2018)

02

Portrait of Breonna Taylor (2020)

03

Major museum retrospective, American Sublime

The portraits.

EVERY ARTIST →

The only name in this room so far.

§ QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK

Who painted Michelle Obama's official portrait?: Amy Sherald. It was unveiled at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in 2018.
Why does Amy Sherald paint skin in gray?: She uses grayscale for skin so the viewer encounters the person before assigning them a race.
Where is Amy Sherald from?: Columbus, Georgia.

In 2018 the National Portrait Gallery unveiled her official portrait of Michelle Obama, and the line to see it went around the room. Her figures stand against flat fields of color, their skin painted in shades of gray, so the viewer meets the person before the category.

EVERYDAY PEOPLE, MONUMENTALLY

She paints people she meets, in their own clothes, at the scale history usually saves for generals. Her 2020 portrait of Breonna Taylor became one of the defining images of that year.