Black people are often photographed in cold, concrete settings in cities, as if that is the only environment we inhabit. It is reductive to think that blackness, as it is represented in art, should be only symbolic. That’s why the selection of Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald to paint the portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery signals something very important. Advertisement Continue reading the main storyBut the selection of Amy Sherald for Michelle Obama’s portrait is perhaps more significant. It elevates a different kind of nuance in black portraiture, one that is even rarer: Ms. Sherald paints blackness that is quiet, ordinary and individual.

Source: New York Times October 28, 2017 18:33 UTC