The Obamas Will Finally Unveil Their Official White House Portraits This Fall
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Getty Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama arrive to President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20 at the U.S. Capitol
A long-awaited moment for the Obama family is finally approaching. On Sept. 7, the 44th president and first lady will unveil their official White House portraits, which will hang permanently in the presidential residence.
More than five years after President Barack Obama left office, he and Michelle will return to the White House at the invitation of President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden to reveal the paintings.
The official White House portraits are separate from the internet-breaking National Portrait Gallery paintings that the Obamas revealed in 2018.
Stewart McLaurin, president of the White House Historical Association, tells PEOPLE about the journey to reach this milestone and the significance of it all.
"More important than the time that it took to create the portraits is the time that the portraits will be shared with the American public for generations to come," McLaurin says. "That is really the significance of these portraits, not to be rushed, but to be special and perfect for that president and first lady."
As is tradition, the artists creating the portraits are kept anonymous until the unveiling, not only to keep the pressure off them as they fine tune the paintings, but to add to the allure of the big reveal.
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Typically the artists are selected around the time that a president and first lady move out of the White House, McLaurin says, confirming that the Trumps' portraits are already in the works. From there, the chosen artists have no deadlines to complete their pieces, which may undergo several small revisions before reaching the final look.
"We don't put a timeframe on it. We don't call the artist and say, 'How's it going? How are you doing? When are you going to have it done?'" McLaurin says. "It just is an organic process that has to take its course. And then when everything's ready and everything's done, the moment is right."
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The Obamas' particular portraits have taken a while to enter public view, but McLaurin doesn't find it unusual, noting that every artist works differently and that the White House had been closed off to visitors for a couple of years anyway. "You wouldn't want to do this at a time when the public wouldn't be able to come in and see the portraits," he explains.
To fully appreciate the beauty of an official portrait in modern times, McLaurin says you have to think about the past.
"This sounds cliche, but you know, these original portraits were done long before we had Instagram and Facebook, so the portraits themselves were the image of that president and first lady that would be remembered in the public's eye," he explains. "Now, a president has millions of digital photographs of their presidency, but in the early years of our country, it was these portraits that would show us what these presidents and first ladies actually looked like."
He continues: "Now it's a different process because we know exactly what all of our presidents and first ladies look like, but they selected artists and they work with that artist to show how they see themselves."
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The collaborative process allows for more personalization, a true ode to the figures being portrayed. Hillary Clinton's first lady portrait, for example, showed her in one of her staple power suits beside a table holding her 1996 book It Takes a Village.
Charles Dharapak/AP/Shutterstock The Obamas host the first family preceding them for a portrait unveiling in 2012
The last portrait unveiling was a decade ago, in 2012, when former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush were welcomed back to be honored for their dedication to the nation.
"Every president is acutely aware that we are just temporary residents. We're renters here. We're charged with the upkeep until our lease runs out," President Obama said at the Bushes' ceremony. "But we also leave a piece of ourselves in this place, and today, with the unveiling of the portraits next to me, President and Mrs. Bush will take their place alongside the men and women who built this country and those who worked to perfect it."
After the Obamas' ceremony in September, their portraits will rest on easels for a few days before finding a place on the walls of the White House.
Traditionally, the two most recent presidential portraits are hung in the Entrance Hall, meaning President Obama would bump President Bill Clinton to a new spot, but it's not a hard-and-fast rule and is left to the discretion of the White House curators. The first ladies' portraits generally hang on the floor below.
While the exact placement of the Obamas' paintings are subject to change over time, one thing is for certain: That they will permanently reside in the White House. And according to McLaurin, "the Obama portraits are extraordinary and very special — just as they are."
