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Looking for something to cry at today? You're in luck! The Obamas just unveiled their official portraits.
On Monday the former POTUS and FLOTUS pulled the curtains off of stunning new portraits of themselves that will hang in Washington, D.C. Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.
It should go without saying, but our hearts were 100 percent not ready.
First up was Michelle, who worked with Baltimore-based artist Amy Sherald. Sherald painted Michelle seated in a dress designed by Michelle Smith’s label Milly.
The official portrait of @MichelleObama by #Baltimore’s own Amy Sherald. Stunning. pic.twitter.com/StmksLvNz9
— Dylan Goldberg (@DylanGoldberg) February 12, 2018
"I'm thinking about all the young people, particularly girls and girls of color who in years ahead will come to this place and they will look up and they will see an image of someone who looks like them hanging on the wall of this great American institute," the former first lady said, admiring her portrait.
Michelle Obama's touching reflection on her new Smithsonian portrait pic.twitter.com/VH25Swz6WW
— Mashable News (@MashableNews) February 12, 2018
Next was Barack, who worked with artist Kehinde Wiley. Wiley created an epic seven-foot portrait of Obama sitting on a chair in front of a background of flowers and greenery.
"How about that? That's pretty sharp," Barack said while admiring the painting.
The garden includes chrysanthemums, the official flower of Obama's Chicago home, jasmine, a reference to his childhood home of Hawaii, and African blue lilies to celebrate his late father, who was Kenyan.
The official portrait of @BarackObama by Kehinde Wiley. Incredible! pic.twitter.com/Ad6EGoEV1c
— Dylan Goldberg (@DylanGoldberg) February 12, 2018
Barack went on to thank Wiley and Sherald for their remarkable work, adorably giving Sherald a special shoutout for capturing his wife's brilliance.
"Amy, I want to thank you for so spectacularly capturing the grace, and beauty, and intelligence, and charm, and hotness of the woman that I love," Obama said with a chuckle.
He then gave a special shout out to "his man" Joe Biden, of course, and was sure to thank his mother-in-law for passing down the "hotness genes" to his wife.
Barack Obama has one word to describe Michelle Obama: "hotness" pic.twitter.com/PFGjtGMvwK
— Mashable News (@MashableNews) February 12, 2018
WOW. Help us, please.
Needless to say, the internet essentially broke at the sight of these works of art.
Monday morning joy as portraits of President and First Lady Obama are revealed by artists Amy Sherald and Kehinde Wiley. Reminds me to hope. #ObamaPortraits pic.twitter.com/6r4NtH0rxx
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) February 12, 2018
WOW AMY PAINTED MICHELLE IN HER SIGNATURE GREY SCALE THIS IS A NOT JUST A PORTRAIT THIS IS A WORK OF ART #ObamaPortraits
For the fashion crowd:
DRESS BY MILLY
THERE IS NOTHING LIKE THIS IN THIS MUSEUM OR OFFICIAL AMERICAN PORTRAITURE ! pic.twitter.com/qwT0RuvbU1— sirsargent (@Sirsargent) February 12, 2018
I am crying right now for Amy Sherald, this is stunning #ObamaPortraits pic.twitter.com/M3lO8Ek2wF
— Lauren Rinaldi (@LRinaldiArt) February 12, 2018
We'd be better off as a country if the White House was being run by the Portraits of Barack Obama & Michelle Obama, which were just unveiled by the National Portrait Gallery then having a real-life version of Trump at the controls.
— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) February 12, 2018
Can we talk about how stunningly powerful it is to see a black man in a garden the way Kehinde Wiley painted Barack Obama?!
It dismantles so much and creates new visions of masculinity that black men rarely have the public permission to explore. pic.twitter.com/pwycHtbbDX— Brittany Packnett (@MsPackyetti) February 12, 2018
When I retweet myself pic.twitter.com/O2U2E3dkY6
— Gideon Resnick (@GideonResnick) February 12, 2018
Official Obama portraits unveiled, and Barack's reaction is priceless. #OurPresident pic.twitter.com/C0YyUHGj6i
— Martese Johnson (@martesejohnson_) February 12, 2018
Kehinde Wiley is the GOAT pic.twitter.com/wiOyghbVdM
— Astead (@AsteadWesley) February 12, 2018
Some people couldn't help but crack "into the bushes" jokes.
wait no sean wat are you doing pic.twitter.com/bLABp3wq4E
— delrayser (@delrayser) February 12, 2018
sorry pic.twitter.com/ApQYOf5XF7
— Shoshana Weissmann, Sloth Committee Chair (@senatorshoshana) February 12, 2018
But most people, including Chrissy Teigen, were busy getting emotional.
come back pic.twitter.com/R3SZ7Pmdf5
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) February 12, 2018
They’re incredible. I miss them so. https://t.co/8CVg2EOz3K
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) February 12, 2018
"I missed you all," Barack said to the crowd before stepping back, to which they shouted, "We missed you!"
Everyone misses Obama pic.twitter.com/4NvwMf0i8U
— Mashable News (@MashableNews) February 12, 2018
Following the unveiling, Barack shared additional thoughts on the portraits on Instagram. "Today, @KehindeWiley and @ASherald became the first black artists to create official presidential portraits for the Smithsonian. To call this experience humbling would be an understatement," he captioned two photos from the event.
"Thanks to Kehinde and Amy, generations of Americans — and young people from all around the world — will visit the National Portrait Gallery and see this country through a new lens. They’ll walk out of that museum with a better sense of the America we all love. Clear-eyed. Big-hearted. Inclusive and optimistic. And I hope they’ll walk out more empowered to go and change their worlds."
A post shared by Barack Obama (@barackobama) on
And Michelle followed with heartfelt comments of her own.
"As a young girl, even in my wildest dreams, I never could have imagined this moment. Nobody in my family has ever had a portrait - there are no portraits of the Robinsons or the Shields from the South Side of Chicago," she wrote on Instagram.
"I am so proud to help make that kind of history. But the fact is that none of this would be possible without the extraordinary artist and woman behind this portrait, @asherald. Thank you, Amy – it was a joy to work with you and get to know you."
A post shared by Michelle Obama (@michelleobama) on
You can see the portraits in the museum starting tomorrow.
Both portraits will be on view starting Feb. 13—his permanently in the “America’s Presidents” exhibition and hers in the museum’s “Recent Acquisitions” corridor through early November 2018. #myNPG #ObamaPortraits pic.twitter.com/VZ3oDgHOvF
— Smithsonian (@smithsonian) February 12, 2018
BRB, sobbing uncontrollably while simultaneously planning a trip to the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.