--- title: Who Is Kehinde Wiley? Artist Painted Barack Obama's Portrait description: Kehinde Wiley painted former President Barack Obama's official portrait. He's an African-American artist who is based in New York. canonical: https://time.com/5147364/kehinde-wiley-artist-painted-barack-obama-portrait/ author: Sarah Gray article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-12T20:34:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T08:57:52.643Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: 3 Things to Know About Kehinde Wiley, the Artist Behind Barack Obama's New Portrait og:description: He went to live in the U.S.S.R. at age 12 og:url: https://time.com/5147364/kehinde-wiley-artist-painted-barack-obama-portrait/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6a15a2f6cb796ba3/6989271aab6d772e116b1b3f/obama-portraits-unveiled.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2405 og:image:height: 1353 og:image:alt: Obama Portraits Unveiled og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 3 Things to Know About Kehinde Wiley, the Artist Behind Barack Obama's New Portrait twitter:description: He went to live in the U.S.S.R. at age 12 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6a15a2f6cb796ba3/6989271aab6d772e116b1b3f/obama-portraits-unveiled.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Three Things to Know About Kehinde Wiley, the Artist Behind Barack Obama's New Portrait > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: See the Newly Unveiled Official Portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama [Watch (HLS stream): See the Newly Unveiled Official Portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/kjOZ9VOE.m3u8) (2:01)  _Published 2018-02-12. The National Portrait Gallery will unveil the long-awaited portraits of former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama on Monday._ by [Sarah Gray](https://time.com/author/sarah-gray/) ## Sarah Gray Feb 12, 2018 8:34 PM UTC by [Sarah Gray](https://time.com/author/sarah-gray/) ## Sarah Gray Feb 12, 2018 8:34 PM UTC If you didn’t know artist [Kehinde Wiley](https://www.gq.com/story/kehinde-wiley) before, you will now: He’s the painter behind former [President Barack Obama’s stunning official portrait](http://time.com/5143747/obama-presidential-portrait-kehinde-wiley/), which was unveiled on Monday at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Not only did Obama become the first African-American president to have a portrait hang in the National Portrait Gallery, but Wiley became the first African-American artist to paint an official presidential portrait. “It’s a huge responsibility,” Wiley told [_The Guardian_](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/nov/26/kehinde-wiley-creating-portrait-barack-obama-huge-responsibility) in 2017\. And though it may have been a humbling duty to paint former President Obama, the painting fits within Wiley’s cannon: bold and often colorful depictions of men (and recently) women of color in the style of Classical European portraiture—a style that has made him both celebrated and successful. ## Who is Kehinde Wiley? Wiley was born South Central, Los Angeles in 1977, where he was raised by a single mother and was one of six siblings. His mother was a linguist, and he grew up surrounded by books. Wiley took his first art lesson at age 11, and at age 12, in 1989, Wiley was one of 50 American children who went to live in Russia at the Center for U.S./U.S.S.R. Initiatives. There, he studied art and Russian language. He eventually attended the San Francisco Art Institute, and studied art in graduate school at Yale. He is based in New York, but has studios around the world in Beijing and West Africa, where his father is from. ## Celebrities associated with Wiley—from Obama to Beyoncé. Kehinde Wiley’s mainstay is “street casting.” He began painting young men and women from the streets of Harlem and painting them in their street clothing in the styles of old-world paintings; Wiley continues that practice around the world in places like the Congo, Morocco, Haiti and India. Wiley has, however, painted famous faces prior to working with Obama. In 2009, Michael Jackson commissioned a portrait, which wasn’t painted until after the king of pop passed. He has also painted rappers LL Cool J and Ice-T, along with soccer royalty around the world. And while he has not done a portrait of Beyoncé, some [have mused](https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2017/02/beyonce-pregnancy-announcement-twins-artist) that his work was an influence on her pregnancy photoshoot. ## Where can you see Kehinde Wiley’s work? Beyond the National Portrait Gallery, you can view Wiley’s art on display at museums around the country. He has paintings in the [North Carolina Museum of Art](http://ncartmuseum.org/art/search?search:cf%5Fworks-of-art%5Fmaker=%3DKehinde+Wiley), the [Brooklyn Museum](https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/artists/11480/objects), the [Milwaukee Art Museum,](http://collection.mam.org/search.php?id=1903&s=0&s=0) and the [Detroit Institute of Arts](https://twitter.com/DIADetroit/status/963080589531283457?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref%5Furl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.freep.com%2Fstory%2Fentertainment%2F2018%2F02%2F12%2Fsee-detroit-institute-arts-painting-president-obama-portrait-kehinde-wiley%2F329571002%2F). You can also scroll through his work on his [Instagram.](https://www.instagram.com/kehindewiley/) > [](https://twitter.com/JamilSmith/status/963104497927991297) Former first lady Michelle Obama’s portrait was painted by Amy Sherald, an African-American artist based in Baltimore, Maryland. Michelle Obama’s portrait was also revealed to the public on Monday, and it will hang in the first floor of the [National Portrait Gallery until November.](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/12/arts/design/obama-portrait.html) ## Transcript [ INAUDIBLE ] But it's hard to obviously judge. [ LAUGH ] Something that is a portrait of you. But what I can say unequivocally, is that I am in awe of Gandhi's gifts and what he and Amy have given to this country and to the world. And we are both very grateful to have been the subject of their attention. For this great moment. I've so many thoughts and feelings rolling around inside of me now. I am humble, I am honor, I'm proud but most of all I am so incredibly grateful to all the people who came before me in this journey. The folks who built the foundation upon which I stand. As you may have guessed, I don't think there is anybody in my family who has ever had a portrait done- [ LAUGH ] Let alone a portrait that will be hanging in the National Gallery. At least as far as I know, mom. The act of Michelle Obama being her authentic self became a profound statement that engaged all of us. Because what you represent to this country is an ideal, a human being with integrity. Intellect, confidence, and compassion. This is who we as a society decide to celebrate. This is our humanity. This is our ability to say, I matter, I was here. The ability to be the first African American painter To paint the first African American president of the United States is absolutely overwhelming. 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