Barack, Michelle Obama Portraits Unveiled (Photos)

WASHINGTON, DC — The National Portrait Gallery has unveiled portraits of former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama. Kehinde Wiley, a Yale University-trained painter known best for his vibrant, large-scale paintings of African-Americans, painted Barack Obama's portrait.

"How about that? That's pretty sharp," Barack Obama said during the event on Monday. In his portrait he sits in a wooden chair in front of green, leafy foliage.

Amy Sherald, first-prize winner of the Portrait Gallery's 2016 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, painted Michelle Obama's portrait.

“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,” the former first lady said.

The former president reportedly joked that his wife's portrait captured her "hotness."

The gallery, a part of the Smithsonian museums, has a complete collection of presidential portraits.

.@MichelleObama: “I’m also thinking about all the young people, particularly girls & 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” pic.twitter.com/R5w9UjzY3x
— Dan Linden (@DanLinden) February 12, 2018

Close up of Pres Obama's portrait. Artist says the foliage background represents his ties to Chicago, Hawaii and Kenya. pic.twitter.com/JtQklRGLTK
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) February 12, 2018

And closeup of Mrs Obama's portrait, which Pres Obama said captured her "hotness." pic.twitter.com/w2pn8H0p73
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) February 12, 2018

Photos credit: Isaac Brekken/Getty Images for National Clean Energy Summit; Andrew Harnik/Associated Press; Mark Wilson/Getty Images