Visitors to the new Obama Presidential Center will be greeted by a historic first: an official painted portrait of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama together.
The portrait, unveiled Monday by the Obama Foundation, was created by internationally acclaimed Nigerian-American artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby and will be displayed in the museum’s Hope and Change Lobby, a public space accessible without a museum ticket.
Titled The Obamas: Springing Forth, 2026, the painting offers more than a traditional presidential portrait. Akunyili Crosby incorporates family photographs, civil rights imagery, historical references and personal mementos that helped shape the lives and legacy of the nation’s first Black president and first lady.
The portrait was revealed to the Obamas for the first time during a private ceremony earlier Monday.
“This work memorializes their journey to the White House while honoring their legacy for generations to come,” the Obama Foundation said in announcing the commission.
Akunyili Crosby, whose work often explores identity, memory and the immigrant experience, based the painting on an original photograph she took of the couple. Her signature technique combines painting with photographic transfers layered throughout the artwork, allowing viewers to discover dozens of historical and personal references woven into the piece.
Among the symbols included are Michelle Obama’s childhood home on Chicago’s South Side, her father’s treasured Buick Electra, the Martin Luther King Jr. bust that stood in the Oval Office during the Obama administration, and the cover of Stevie Wonder’s Talking Book album — the first album Michelle Obama received as a gift and one the couple danced to at their wedding.
The portrait also features charms President Obama carried with him while in office, books written by and cherished by the Obamas, their Grammy Awards, a basketball and imagery connected to generations of activists, artists and community leaders who helped pave the way for their rise to national leadership.
Born in Nigeria in 1983, Akunyili Crosby is one of the most celebrated contemporary artists in the world. She earned degrees from Swarthmore College, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and Yale University, and is known for creating richly layered works that explore the connections between personal and collective history.
The unveiling comes just days before the Obama Presidential Center opens to the public. Grand opening festivities begin June 18, with the museum opening June 19 and community celebrations planned throughout the campus June 20-21.
Located on Chicago’s South Side, the Obama Presidential Center serves as both a museum and a community gathering space dedicated to preserving the legacy of Barack and Michelle Obama while inspiring future generations of leaders.
For many visitors, the new portrait may become one of the center’s most powerful attractions — a visual reminder not only of the Obamas’ historic journey, but of the generations of Black Americans whose stories helped make that journey possible.
