SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – The Obama Portrait Tour opens this weekend at the de Young Museum in San Francisco featuring portraits of President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, which are the first presidential portraits painted by African Americans.
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The Obama portraits tour organized by the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery makes its San Francisco debut this weekend at the de Young.
"The paintings have also made history by introducing contemporary art concerns especially social and political concerns into the realm of presidential portraiture which traditionally has been very conventional," Timothy Burgard the curator in charge of American art for the Fine Arts museums told KCBS Radio.
In President Barack Obama's portrait he is surrounded by symbolic foliage and flowers. "African lilies for his kenyan father, white jasmine for his childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia," Burgard
There are also chrysanthemums representing Chicago and red roses for Washington D.C. The first lady sits in front of a light blue background with artist Amy Cheryl using monochrome for her face.
"To really get people to focus on the unique humanity of First Lady Michelle Obama, one of the most scrutinized and praised and critiqued women in history," he explained.
This weekend thanks to Google admission is free and every Saturday the exhibit is free for the duration of its time in the city.
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