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Former US president Barack Obama has selected New-York based Nigerian artist, Kehinde Wiley, to paint his official portrait.
It is traditional for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery to commission an artist to create a portrait of the president and the first lady after their tenure.
Obama chose Kehinde despite his predecessors having preferred to sit for 90-year old portrait artist Everett Raymond Kinstler, who has painted eight US presidents.
Kehinde Wiley is known for lush, larger-than-life portraits that overlay black street culture with European classical motifs. He is believed to be an exciting choice for the presidential portrait.
Throughout his career, Kehinde has become renowned for creating portraits of African American men, including the Notorious B.I.G., LL Cool J, Big Daddy Kane, Ice T, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Michael Jackson, and more.
It is traditional for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery to commission an artist to create a portrait of the president and the first lady after their tenure.
Obama chose Kehinde despite his predecessors having preferred to sit for 90-year old portrait artist Everett Raymond Kinstler, who has painted eight US presidents.
Kehinde Wiley is known for lush, larger-than-life portraits that overlay black street culture with European classical motifs. He is believed to be an exciting choice for the presidential portrait.
Throughout his career, Kehinde has become renowned for creating portraits of African American men, including the Notorious B.I.G., LL Cool J, Big Daddy Kane, Ice T, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Michael Jackson, and more.
