Portrait of Obama: 'This will not tell the future ages what made him special' | Jonathan Jones

There’s a boardroom blandness to Kehinde Wiley’s portrait of the ex-president. But Amy Sherald’s painting of the former first lady, unveiled at the same time, is a haunting, billowing revelation

Kehinde Wiley’s keenly awaited portrait of the 44th president of the United States is a disappointment. It says much less about Barack Obama than Pete Souza’s photograph of the president bending down to let a little boy touch his hair. And it is unlikely to be remembered in the same way as Shepard Fairey’s Hope poster.

Related: Official portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama unveiled

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