Free Republic

In this painting, Kehinde Wiley, an African-American artist, strategically re-creates a famous French painting from two hundred years before but with key differences. This act of appropriation reveals issues about the tradition of portraiture and all that it implies about power and privilege. Wiley asks us to think about the biases of the art historical canon (the set of works that are regarded as “masterpieces”), representation in pop culture, and issues of race and gender. Here, Wiley replaces the original white subject—the French general-turned-emperor Napoleon Bonaparte—with an anonymous Black man whom Wiley approached on the street as part of his...

Was the presidential portrait of Barack Obama made in China? Sources say artist Kehinde Wiley — who painted the former president before a background of greenery and flowers — has studios in China and produces most of his work there. “It’s his base of operation,” said art critic Charlie Finch, who has known Wiley and appreciated his talent since they were students at Yale. “He has dozens of assistants working for him.” While Obama sat for Wiley for several hours, the portrait may have been sent to China to be completed. “Normally, Wiley sketches out the important parts, and assistants...

The artist who painted former President Barack Obama for the National Portrait Gallery in the Smithsonian has a history of including depictions of sperm in his work, and has been described as “predatory” and “perverse” by The Village Voice. Kehinde Wiley is well-known for recreating famous paintings, but replacing the featured white person – often a noble or general – with a young black man. Wiley often met the men on the street, brought them into his studio, and had them pick a work to be painted into, the famously left-wing Village Voice reported in March 2015. Wiley “lures young...

“In Wiley’s rendering, Judith is depicted as a black woman and Holofernes as a white woman.” “Fans of the Obama portrait will recognize Wiley’s photo-realistic human figures, distinct colors and prominent use of floral backgrounds.” “Wiley translates this image of a courageous, powerful woman into a contemporary version that resonates with fury and righteousness.”

Full title: Barack and Michelle Obama's portraits unveiled at Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery Text of excerpt: Barack and Michelle Obama’s official portraits were unveiled at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery on Monday morning. The former president’s portrait was painted by artist Kehinde Wiley, and the former First Lady chose Baltimore artist Amy Sherald for hers. Wiley and Sherald are the first two African-American artists to ever be commissioned to paint presidential portraits for the museum.

Can you imagine if Donald Trump’s official portrait artist painted white women holding the decapitated heads of African-American women? There would be social chaos. But as Americans we are supposed to sit back and applaud Obama’s artist for chopping off the heads of white women to be carried like a trophy by African-American women? Was this artist, Kehinde Wiley, paid with public tax monies to paint Obama’s portrait?