Today, September 7, the White House unveiled a second set of official Obama portraits in an event hosted by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden and attended by the Obamas. In keeping with tradition, the former president and first lady chose the artists who would paint them — Robert McCurdy and Sharon Sprung, respectively — and the completed works will now hang in the White House.

Presidents and first ladies receive two sets of official portraits: One goes to the collection of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, for public display, and one stays in the collection of the White House. The former, painted by Amy Sherald and Kehinde Wiley, became immediately famous when the portraits were unveiled in 2018 and are now on a national tour. (They are currently on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.)


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