Jessi Cable

March 12, 2018

Art History 375
Formal Analysis

Monday, February 12, 2018 saw the first African American documented in the National

Portrait Gallery of Presidential Portraits (National Portrait Gallery, npg.edu). Kehinde Wiley’s,

President Barack Obama, undoubtedly stands out to any viewer who visits this section. Not only

is this visual documentation of the first African American president, but Wiley is the first

African American commissioned for the official presidential portrait. Wiley’s artistic style

established in previous portraits is prevalent here; the Obama portrait has the same idealized

figure, puts a non-white subject in a powerful position, and features a bold background.

Consider this backdrop as a representation of Obama’s genealogical history, with Obama

himself representing his presidency. This particular background is so bold, it seems to call the

viewer’s attention away from the figure and onto itself. In this way, the portrait mirrors the

tension between Obama’s legacy as president and his history as the first non-white president that

threatens to overshadow his accomplishments. This visualizes the conflict between which

attribution people will remember.

The strikingly saturated foliage, that Wiley awkwardly placed Obama’s figure in the

relative center of, is significant to the former president’s personal history. Recurring often

throughout the painting, the African blue lilies represent Obama’s paternal heritage. While the

flower (looking more purple than blue) comes from South Africa, it is nicknamed “the Lily of

the Nile” and recalls the former president’s Kenyan roots. The small white flowers scattered

around the subject are jasmine: a flower commonly used in lei making. This flower represents

the former president’s home state of Hawaii, and the color of those shown in the painting recalls

Obama’s prom boutonniere from 1979 (Popular Science, popsci.com).

 While he was born in Hawaii, Obama chose to begin his political career in Chicago,

integrating another historically significant flower into the vibrant backdrop. The fluffy orange

and pink chrysanthemums in the background were named the city of Chicago’s official flower in

1996. These flowers draw attention to Obama’s campaign for senate, and long-standing

relationship with the city. The connection Obama has with the plants in the background speak to

the historically and currently close relationship mankind has with botany (Popular Science,

popsci.com).

Though the relationship between man and plant is close, it is not always cordial. In

President Barack Obama’s case, these plants threaten to cover the figure in several places. Wiley

confuses the paintings three-dimensional illusion by contradicting line and shape. In some

places, the luscious backdrop seems far from the figure, and non-threatening, but around

Obama’s feet, in certain parts of the chair he is sitting in, and on his left arm the leaves overtake

his presence. The subject is leaning forward, presumably to separate himself from the leaves’

reach. Although the plants are rendered with less detail than Obama, they are more vibrant in

color, therefore demanding the viewer to notice them.

In this vein, the background is radically different from any other presidential portrait’s.

Other likenesses of former presidents have a heavily subdued backdrop, often depicting nothing,

otherwise depicting a nondescript room. Wiley’s unique decision to incorporate a whimsical

setting into President Barack Obama, particularly one with such audacious colors, demands

particular attention from viewers, distinguishing it from the other portraits in the gallery. This is

one of many ways Wiley balances respect for tradition and history with the insertion of modern

ideals.
 By exploring the relationship between the traditional and the current in his previous

portraits, Wiley gives Obama a certain level of vulnerability. In many of his paintings such as

Napoleon Leading the Army Over the Alps, Wiley paints historically downtrodden figures as

heroic subjects by putting an African American man in place of Napoleon, therefore representing

the non-powerful in powerful positions (Brooklyn Museum, brooklynmuseum.org). In the

Obama portrait, the figure is powerful, yet conveys a casual nature and accessibility. The subject

is alert, but seated and seems relatively relaxed. His clothes do not indicate status as someone

wearing a tie (or a crown) might. There is even a friendly smirk opposing the former president’s

furrowed brow. Obama’s relatability and attention to the viewer distract him from the foliage the

encroaches on him.

The quarrel between Obama’s lineage and presidency is perhaps less of a contradiction

than it is a balance. As the U.S. grows increasingly diverse, remembering cultural roots is

edifying. Victimized people groups benefit from the knowledge that one can come from a

complicated childhood and discriminatory society, and achieve power and influence. Accepting

and appreciating history is necessary, but letting this overshadow current accomplishments is an

injustice to the now as an empty sentiment.

 Works Cited

Brooklyn Museum. (n.d.). Retrieved March 11, 2018, from

https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/169803

Cummins, E. (2018, February 19). The botany in Obama's official portrait represents his history.

Retrieved March 11, 2018, from https://www.popsci.com/flower-symbolism-barack-

obama-portrait#page-2

National Portrait Gallery. (n.d.). Retrieved March 11, 2018, from

http://npg.si.edu/object/npg_PA_NPG.18-55