Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude

amy sherald

Royalty, Royalty, Royalty: Adorable Little Girl Entranced by Michelle Obama Portrait Thought the First Lady Was a ‘Queen’

By now you’ve likely seen the image of a 2-year-old black girl in a pink-and-red parka, her hair separated into two precise puffs, looking up in awe at a portrait of Michelle Obama at the National Portrait Gallery. That girl was little Parker Curry. And her mother, Jessica Curry, told CNN on Saturday that Parker…

By

Anne Branigin

Published

March 4, 2018
Beauty + Style

Picture Yourself: How Michelle Obama Included Us in Her Portrait

It’s Presidents Day, and now a week since former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama unveiled their official portraits at the National Portrait Gallery. The portraits, by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald respectively—both black painters—are such sharp departures from any previous depictions of a president and first lady that reviews were understandably mixed,…

By

Maiysha Kai

Published

February 19, 2018
Very Smart Brothas

A List of Things I’m Qualified to Critique, Since Apparently You’re Only Allowed to Critique Something if You’re an Expert Now

On Monday morning, the National Portrait Gallery unveiled its official portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama. I thought they were nice and cool and sleek and shit, but some others did not. But, then, some people were mad at the people who did not, like, “You can’t critique art if you’re not an expert on…

By

Damon Young

Published

February 12, 2018
Barack and Michelle Obama’s Official Portrait Unveiling Was a Shining Moment of Black History

It may not have been completely intentional, but the unveiling of the official portraits of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama during Black History Month was certainly something to behold. It was the first black president and the first black first lady, painted and portrayed by black artists in a way that told…

By

Breanna Edwards

Published

February 12, 2018
The Obamas Chose 2 Black Artists to Paint Their Official Portraits for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery

Barack and Michelle Obama hand-picked the two artists who will paint the portraits that will memorialize them in perpetuity at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, and both artists are black. The Smithsonian has commissioned Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald to paint the official portraits of the former president and first lady respectively, the Wall Street…

By

Monique Judge

Published

October 13, 2017