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'Life-changing' Kehinde Wiley portrait goes on show at V&A

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'Life-changing' Kehinde Wiley portrait goes on show at V&A

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A young EastEnder has described the "life-changing" moment she saw her portrait on the wall at the V&A.

Melissa Thompson was walking through Ridley Road market in Dalston when she was spotted by US artist Kehinde Wiley, who shot to fame when he painted Barack Obama's presidential portrait.

The resulting two-metre oil painting was first shown at the William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow but has now been bought by the V&A.

Thompson, who grew up in Hackney and now lives in Ilford, was with her family when she was approached by the painter.

She said: "It was such a surreal moment when Kehinde Wiley approached me at Ridley Road Market and asked to take my portrait - I never thought I would end up in a museum.

"His work is so unique and powerful, it was a really life-changing thing for me. I love this portrait - it captures a moment in time. Seeing it on the wall at the V&A feels really special - I can now see parts of my own culture and east London represented in a museum."

Los Angeles-born Wiley made his name by creating Old Master style portraits of people of colour and made history in 2018 when he became the first African-American artist to paint an official U.S. Presidential portrait for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.

The painting of Ms Thompson will eventually become part of the collection at the V&A's new site in Stratford which is set to start opening in 2024.

Gus Casely-Hayford, Director of V&A East, said: " One of our first acquisitions for V&A East, the painting speaks to the creative heritage and cultural diversity of east London and will help realise our ambitions to spotlight previously underrepresented artists and movements through V&A East's programme, which tells global stories of creativity and reflects the pressing debates in society today."

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'Life-changing' Kehinde Wiley portrait goes on show at V&A

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Melissa Thompson was walking through Ridley Road market in Dalston when she was spotted by US artist Kehinde Wiley, who shot to fame when he painted Barack Obama's presidential portrait. The resulting two-metre oil painting was first shown at the William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow but has now been bought by the V&A.

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Discover recipes, home ideas, style inspiration and other ideas to try.

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>> Download this Classroom Resource
About the Subject

Michelle Obama

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is a lawyer, writer, and the wife of the 44th president, Barack Obama. She was the first African American first lady of the United States. As an advocate for healthy families, service members and their families, higher education, and international adolescent girls' education, she has become a role model. Mrs. Obama remembers growing up on the South Side of Chicago and thinking "being smart is cooler than anything in the world." After earning degrees from Princeton University and Harvard Law School, she joined Sidley Austin LLP, where she met Barack Obama in 1989. Guided by the desire to improve her community, she left the firm in the mid-1990s to begin a career in public service. She directed community and external affairs for the University of Chicago Medical Center prior to moving to Washington in 2009. During her husband's two presidential campaigns, Mrs. Obama delivered poignant speeches that centered on her family's commitment to serving others and highlighted the importance of her role as a parent.

About the Artist

Amy Sherald

In 2016, Amy Sherald became the first woman to win the National Portrait Gallery's Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition with her painting Miss Everything (Unsuppressed Deliverance): https://portraitcompetition.si.edu/content/amy-sherald. Based in Baltimore, Maryland, Sherald focuses on African American cultural history and the representation of the African American body. She uses a grayscale to paint skin tones as a way of challenging the concept of color as race. This grayscale technique, also called grisaille, is connected to the artist's early personal experiences. Sherald, who was born in Columbus, Georgia, remembers looking at family photo albums as a child and getting to know her grandmother Jewel through a black-and-white photograph. She was captivated by her grandmother's beauty, self-possession, and confident, direct gaze in the photograph. When Sherald looked for painted portraits of people who looked like her in art history books in local libraries, she realized that her family's story was absent in the history of painted portraiture. She was also discouraged when she did not find people who looked like her in the public spaces of museums. Sherald's larger project of painting portraits of African Americans seeks to make up for this absence by addressing the history of representation. She has notably described her paintings as a "meditation on photography." Her subjects are often set in whimsical, nondescript settings with occasional surreal details that add a bit of satire. The dreamlike backgrounds create what the artist refers to as "the amorphous personal space of my own existence within the context of black identity and my search for ways to clarify and ground it."

About the Painting

Portrait unveiling

The portrait celebrates Michelle Obama, the former first lady of the United States and the wife of the 44th president, Barack Obama. In this elegant and enigmatic painting, she gazes directly out at the viewer, hand under her chin, inviting contemplation. Painted using the artist Amy Sherald's signature grayscale, Mrs. Obama's unnaturally colored skin asks us to consider both her race and her humanity. While the use of gray in lieu of more natural skin tones reduces the reference to her race, the blunt removal also draws attention to her skin color, highlighting her racial identity. The gray tones, in particular, reference nineteenth-century photographic traditions, wherein the emerging photographic medium allowed free African Americans to celebrate themselves and craft their own unique (and positive) identities. Whereas the grand portraiture traditions of painting and sculpture were largely out of reach, photography was an accessible medium. Instead of representing a particular time or place, Sherald strives to make Mrs. Obama timeless and therefore eternally relevant for viewers. Dominating the composition is Mrs. Obama's monumental dress. Designed by Michelle Smith, for her label Milly, and selected for the portrait by Mrs. Obama, Sherald, and Mrs. Obama's stylist, the dress is symbolic, referencing the former first lady's modernity and approachability. While the dress was originally designed by Smith with modern art, such as Pop and Op art, in mind, Sherald recognized its visual affinities with the quilts of Gee's Bend, Alabama. The quilts of Gee's Bend, a remote black community of the descendants of former slaves, are bold and improvisational, and reference the independence and resourcefulness of the African American experience.

Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition

Miss Everything (Unsuppressed Deliverance)

Amy Sherald received first prize in the 2016 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition for an oil on canvas titled Miss Everything (Unsuppressed Deliverance). Every three years, the National Portrait Gallery invites artists who are at least eighteen years old to submit their work to the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. The competition welcomes all media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, textiles, video, performance, and digital or time-based media. The competition's focus is on broadening the definition of portraiture and highlighting the genre's relevance in contemporary art. Artists are encouraged to think about portraiture's potential to engage with the social and political landscape of our time. The juried competition results in an exhibition of about fifty finalists, with the prizewinners announced at the opening. The winner receives a grand prize of $25,000 and an opportunity to create a portrait for the Portrait Gallery's permanent collection. A fully illustrated publication accompanies the exhibition. The competition is named for Virginia Outwin Boochever (1920-2005), a former Portrait Gallery docent whose generous gift endowed this program. Amy Sherald says: Miss Everything was inspired by Alice in Wonderland. The big dress, the teacup. You're left with the impression that she's playing dress up but that she's also striving for something different than who she is. And seeing herself in a way that other people may not see her. Miss Everything is who she is now in this present moment. The idea of being seen as anything other than the color of her skin. Her name is Krystal. It took us about an hour just for her to relax to give me that pose where her shoulder went up and her chin went up and she just became Miss Everything in that one moment.

Portrait Observations and Analysis

* What aspect of the portrait do you notice first and why?

* Michelle Obama's dress dominates the composition. Describe her dress. What shapes do you see? Why might the artist have chosen to highlight this element of the portrait?

* Consider the background. Why might it be significant? * Consider Michelle Obama's facial expression. How would you describe it? * What adjectives would you use to describe Michelle Obama's pose?

* Look at Michelle Obama's skin color. Describe the color. How does the artist use color to reference past portraiture traditions? How does she use color to emphasize Michelle Obama's humanity?

* Michelle Obama and Amy Sherald both expressed an interest in bringing "black and brown bodies" into the museum. How does this portrait accomplish that goal?

* How does this portrait express Michelle Obama's individuality?

* Michelle Obama is the first African American first lady of the United States. "How" she is represented and "who" painted her portrait are important considerations. Why? How does Mrs. Obama stand for more than just herself through this portrait?

* How does Michelle Obama's portrait connect us to past artistic traditions? Why might it be important to look to the past?

* Consider the artist's use of color. How does the color palette help establish an overall mood in this portrait?

Extensions

* Discuss the significance of Michelle Obama's quote at the unveiling: "I'm also 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 institution. I know the kind of impact that will have on their lives, because I was one of those girls."

* Michelle Obama once said, "When someone is cruel or acts like a bully, you don't stoop to their level. No, our motto is, when they go low, we go high." What did she mean by that? Do you agree or disagree? Why or why not?

* Amy Sherald saw echoes of the quilts of Gee's Bend in Michelle Obama's Milly dress. The quilts of Gee's Bend represent the shared culture and heritage of a small group of African Americans in Alabama. Create your own quilt to illustrate your own culture and heritage.

* Michelle Obama said: "No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of half its citizens." Consider the women in your life. Compose a group portrait of the women who inspire you through their accomplishments and actions.

Michelle Obama's portrait:

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama by Amy Sherald, oil on linen, 2018. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg; Judith Kern and Kent Whealy; Tommie L. Pegues and Donald A. Capoccia; Clarence, DeLoise, and Brenda Gaines; Jonathan and Nancy Lee Kemper; The Stoneridge Fund of Amy and Marc Meadows; Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker; Catherine and Michael Podell; Mark and Cindy Aron; Lyndon J. Barrois and Janine Sherman Barrois; The Honorable John and Louise Bryson; Paul and Rose Carter; Bob and Jane Clark; Lisa R. Davis; Shirley Ross Davis and Family; Alan and Lois Fern; Conrad and Constance Hipkins; Sharon and John Hoffman; Audrey M. Irmas; John Legend and Chrissy Teigen; Eileen Harris Norton; Helen Hilton Raiser; Philip and Elizabeth Ryan; Roselyne Chroman Swig; Josef Vascovitz and Lisa Goodman; Eileen Baird; Dennis and Joyce Black Family Charitable Foundation; Shelley Brazier; Aryn Drake-Lee; Andy and Teri Goodman; Randi Charno Levine and Jeffrey E. Levine; Fred M. Levin and Nancy Livingston, The Shenson Foundation; Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago; Arthur Lewis and Hau Nguyen; Sara and John Schram; Alyssa Taubman and Robert Rothman

Amy Sherald by Justin T. Gellerson; courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth. © Amy Sherald
Michelle Obama by Lawrence Jackson; Official White House Photo
Michelle Obama and Amy Sherald by Pete Souza; courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery. © 2018 Pete Souza
Miss Everything (Unsuppressed Deliverance) by Amy Sherald, oil on canvas, 2013. Frances and Burton Reifler. © Amy Sherald

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Download this Classroom Resource Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is a lawyer, writer, and the wife of the 44th president, Barack Obama. She was the first African American first lady of the United States. As an advocate for healthy families, service members and their families, higher education, and international adolescent girls' education, she has become a role model.

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Leonardo Da Vinci, Vincent Van Gogh, Johannes Vermeer, Pablo Picasso, Rembrandt van Rijn, Frida Kahlo, John Singer Sargent, Gustav Klimt, Grant Wood, Francis Bacon.

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What makes a great portrait artist is more than just painting a good likeness of the model, it is in fact capturing the essence of what makes a person 'that' person.

Portraiture throughout history has been practices by all of the great masters.

From the as far back as the Egyptian pharaohs through to the great Renaissance, portrait painting was the method for recording and capturing the human face for centuries.

But;

They can capture that certain something that makes the human face so expressive.

All of the most famous portraits artists like Van Gogh, Da Vinci, Rembrandt, and Vermeer had the ability to work in the subtlest of nuances into their portrait paintings to elevate their work into some of the greatest works of art ever produced.

Famous Portrait Artists

As one of the most recognized post-impressionist artists, Vincent van Gogh utilized color as the primary sign of expression. Born in Groot-Zundert, Holland on March 30th, 1853, van Gogh's father was a pastor, so his childhood revolved around a cultured and religious experience.

As a child, he was highly emotional, struggled with self-identity, and lacked self-confidence and direction. He believed his calling in life was to become a preacher, so it took him years to uncover his true artistic nature. Between 1860 and 1880, van Gogh slowly determined that he should be an artist.

Born in Vinci, Italy on April 15th, 1452, Leonardo Da Vinci was a scientist, inventor, and artist during the Italian Renaissance period. He is one of the most intelligent and most talented individuals in history.

The term Renaissance Man was coined due to da Vinci's many talents, so he set the bar for future creators. While not much is known of his childhood, da Vinci's father was wealthy and had multiple wives.

Around the age of 14, he became the apprentice to Verrocchio where he learned to paint, draw, and gained other skills. He is one of the greatest artists in history due to two of his most famous works, the Mona Lisa, and The Last Supper.

His mother was an illiterate housewife since she could only sign 'X' on the marriage certificate. As a teenager, Vermeer became the apprentice painter of his father with the suspected training of Carel Fabritius in his early career.

In 1662, Vermeer rose to be the head of the Guild of St. Luke which exposed him to many Delft artists, collectors, and patrons which kicked off his Mature Period. In December 1675 Vermeer died because of depression and madness.

Born in Malaga, Spain in 1881, Pablo Picasso began to draw at a young age. When the family moved to Barcelona in 1895, Picasso studied at La Longa, the Academy of Fine Arts.

In 1900, he traveled to Paris where he developed the Blue Period from 1901 to 1904, the Rose Period in 1905, moved into Cubism during the Analytic Phase from 1908-1911, and finally his Synthetic phase from 1912-1913. In 1916, he began collaborating on theatrical and ballet productions and his work was characterized by neoclassicism.

Born to the son of a miller of modest means in Leiden, Holland on July 15th, 1606, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was highly educated, beginning his studies at the Latin School then entering the University of Leiden at age 14.

Due to boredom, he soon left to study art with Jacob van Swanenburch followed by Pieter Lastman. At only age 22, he took his first pupils with one student being the famous Gerrit Dou. In 1631, Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam where he created mythological and religious works, which were in demand.

Throughout his life, his family situation was marked by a burden with his wife and three of his children dying in their home. Rembrandt died in 1669 leaving behind countless works, armor, and weapons that changed the landscape of the artistic community.

Born in La Casa Azul in Coyocan, Mexico on July 6th, 1907, Frida Kahlo showed a deep sense of independence and rebellion as a child, going against typical moral habits and ordinary social norms.

She was proud of her Mexican and cultural tradition, being moved by sensuality and passion. Her life was stained by physical suffering beginning with contracting polio at age five and a bus accident in 1925 that caused severe injuries.

She had 32 surgical operations throughout her entire life. This resulted in many of her works being painted from her bed where she drew from personal experience, multiple operations, and miscarriages.

Thus, her works were characterized by human suffering and portrayals of pain. She died on July 13th, 1954 from a pulmonary embolism.

John Singer Sargent was born in Florence, Italy in January 1856 to a modest family. His elegant portraits provided a glimpse of Edwardian Age society in which the privileged and wealthy in Europe and the United States traveled to his studio in London.

Sargent first visited the United States in 1876 and almost immediately established citizenship. He was a reserved and serious man with a penchant for drawing.

Before he visited the United States, he studied painting in Paris with Carolus-Duran, a famous society portraitist. During this time, Sargent experimented with Impressionist techniques.

In 1879, he went to Madrid to study the masterpieces of Diego Velazquez then to the Netherlands to be inspired by the works of Frans Hals.

In 1884, Sargent unveiled his best-known work, Madame X, which is a portrait of Madame Gautreau, an infamous Parisian beauty. Sargent's works captured the hearts of the British public and became a popular artist in the United States.

In the early 1900s, Sargent devoted the rest of his life to painting Alpine and Italian landscape murals in watercolor. He died on April 15th, 1925 in London, England.

As an Austrian painter and founder of the Vienna Sezession school of painting, Gustav Klimt (born July 14th, 1862) first opened an independent studio in 1883 after studying at the Vienna School of Decorative Arts.

His early work was set in a classical style which was typical for the period and is evident in murals like Vienna Burgtheater. In 1897, Klimt's style began to mature, and he founded the Vienna Sezession painting school which taught the popular Art Nouveau.

Soon after opening the school, Klimt painted three murals for the ceiling of the University of Vienna auditorium which were highly controversial because of the erotic symbolism and pessimism. This caused the murals to be rejected by the public and the school.

Klimt's most successful masterpieces include Fritza Riedler, The Kiss, and Adele Bloch-Bauer I which shows his treatment of the human figure without shadows thus highlighting the sensuality of skin by encircling it with areas of highly ornamental, flat, and brilliantly composed sections of decoration. Klimt died in Vienna on February 6th, 1918.

As one of the largest exponents of Midwestern Regionalism, Grant Wood was born in 1891 near Anamosa, Iowa so he grew up capturing the typical Midwestern lifestyle.

Knowing little about the substrate, he traveled to Germany to seek assistance. While in Germany, he was heavily influenced by the paintings of 16th century German and Flemish masters.

He abandoned his Impressionist style and started painting in a realistic and detailed manner. While some of his earlier works did not attract attention, American Gothic became a hit in 1930 when on display at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Throughout his life, Wood was a leader in the Regionalist movement. In 1934, Wood became an assistant professor of fine arts within the University of Iowa system.

He continued painting episodes from American history and Midwestern rural landscapes until his death in February of 1942.

Considered the man who kept British figurative painting alive and fresh, Francis Bacon was challenged with the dominance of conceptual and abstract art.

His tortured figures were born from the influences of Surrealism, most from Picasso's works. His well-known series of Screaming Popes, distorted portraits, and crucifixions are unforgettable and incredibly distinct compared to other artists of that time.

Born in Dublin to English parents in 1909, Bacon's father was a retired Army Major who breaded and trained horses. Bacon lived an unsettled childhood, moving to different country homes in Ireland and England.

His emerging homosexuality resulted in estrangement from his father despite attempting to reform him.

Bacon served in civil defense during WWII which had a heavy impact on his art. After returning, he painted Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion, which has a tremendous impact on a 1945 group exhibition.

Bacon destroyed much of his earlier work due to displeasure, but Three Studies showcases the triptych format which displays agonized and distorted figures in an abstract space.

Bacon died on a trip to Madrid in 1992, leaving behind countless works of art set in museums around the world.

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What makes a great portrait artist is more than just painting a good likeness of the model, it is in fact capturing the essence of what makes a person 'that' person. Portraiture throughout history has been practices by all of the great masters. From the as far back as the Egyptian pharaohs through to the ...

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