ExhibitionsThe Obama Portraits Tour
Past Exhibition

The Obama Portraits Tour

January 14 – March 20, 2022

Side by side official portraits of Barack Obama and Michelle Obama.
Barack Obama sits in a wooden chair in front of an encroaching wall of greenery and flowers.
Michelle Obama's official portrait by Amy Sherald depicts her in a white gown with colored patches reminiscent of quilting patterns.

 

All tickets for this special exhibition are sold out.

Free Dates

All free dates are sold out.

Refunds and Exchanges

All tickets reservations are final. Tickets reservations cannot be rescheduled or exchanged.

Beat the Crowds

For the best experience, we recommend visiting during the week. Weekends tend to have higher volume and sell out quickly.

 

All tickets for this special exhibition are sold out.

Free Dates

All free dates are sold out.

Refunds and Exchanges

All tickets reservations are final. Tickets reservations cannot be rescheduled or exchanged.

Beat the Crowds

For the best experience, we recommend visiting during the week. Weekends tend to have higher volume and sell out quickly.

About the Exhibition

From the moment of their unveiling at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in February 2018, the museum’s official portraits of President Barack Obama and Mrs. Michelle Obama have become iconic. Kehinde Wiley’s portrait of President Obama and Amy Sherald’s portrait of the former First Lady have inspired unprecedented responses from the public.

This five-city tour will travel the country from June 2021 through May 2022 and is expected to reach millions of people who might not otherwise have an opportunity to view these remarkable paintings. In addition to the artworks themselves, The Obama Portraits Tour will feature audio-visual elements, Portrait Gallery-led teacher workshops, curatorial presentations, and a richly illustrated book (National Portrait Gallery and Princeton University Press). This special presentation will enhance the conversations surrounding the power of portraiture and its potential to engage communities.

Tour Locations Include

Obama Portraits Tour FAQ

For more detailed information on ticketing for this exhibition, including special extended hours, please visit the
Obama Portraits FAQ page.

What Our Visitors Are Saying

Press

Atlanta Journal Constitution | “Tickets for Obama portraits exhibit at High Museum go on sale”
Atlanta Journal Constitution 
“Obama portraits coming to Atlanta’s High Museum”
Hyperallergic | “Amy Sherald And Kehinde Wiley’s Portraits of the Obamas Get a National Tour”
The Washington Post | “The wildly popular Obama portraits are going on a year-long tour to museums around the country”
CNN | “Obama portraits to go on year-long national tour in 2021”
The New York Times | “5-City Tour Planned for Obamas’ Portraits”
Chicago Tribune | “Obama portraits coming to Chicago”
Atlanta Journal Constitution | “12 arts events you don’t want to miss in the new year”
Thrillist | “What We’re Looking Forward to in Atlanta in 2022”
Black Art in America | “20 MUST SEE EXHIBITS (Winter, 2022)”
11Alive News | “Obama presidential portraits on display at the High Museum of Art”
CBS46 | “Obama portraits now on display at Atlanta’s High Museum of Art”
WSB-TV | “Large crowds expected as Obama portraits arrive at High Museum of Art”
Atlanta Journal Constitution | “Obama portraits arrive at High Museum”
Atlanta Journal Constitution | “Podcast: The Obama portraits at the High Museum of Art”

Image credits: Kehinde Wiley, Barack Obama, 2018, oil on canvas, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, © 2018 Kehinde Wiley; Amy Sherald, Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama, 2018, oil on linen, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. The National Portrait Gallery is grateful to the generous donors who made these commissions possible and proudly recognizes them at npg.si.edu/obamaportraitstour.

The Obama Portraits Tour is organized by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC.
Support for the national tour has been generously provided by Bank of America.
Community access ticketing made possible by the Coca-Cola Foundation.

Major Funding

Lead Support Provided by

Funding Provided by

Kent and Tamara Kelley and Sally and Allen McDaniel

Premier Exhibition Series Sponsor

Premier Exhibition Series Supporters

ACT Foundation, Inc.
Sarah and Jim Kennedy
Louise Sams and Jerome Grilhot
Dr. Joan H. Weens Estate

Benefactor Exhibition Series Supporters

Robin and Hilton Howell

Ambassador Exhibition Supporters

The Antinori Foundation
Corporate Environments
The Arthur R. and Ruth D. Lautz Charitable Foundation
Elizabeth and Chris Willett

Contributing Exhibition Series Supporters

Farideh and Al Azadi
Sandra and Dan Baldwin
Lucinda W. Bunnen
Marcia and John Donnell
Mrs. Peggy Foreman
Helen C. Griffith
Mrs. Fay S. Howell/The Howell Fund
Mr. and Mrs. Baxter Jones
Joel Knox and Joan Marmo
Dr. Joe B. Massey
Margot and Danny McCaul
The Ron and Lisa Brill Family Charitable Trust
Wade Rakes and Nicholas Miller
The Fred and Rita Richman Fund
In Memory of Elizabeth B. Stephens by Powell Stephens, Preston Stephens, and Sally Stephens Westmoreland
USI Insurance Services
Mrs. Harriet H. Warren

Generous support is also provided by

Alfred and Adele Davis Exhibition Endowment Fund, Anne Cox Chambers Exhibition Fund, Barbara Stewart Exhibition Fund, Dorothy Smith Hopkins Exhibition Endowment Fund, Eleanor McDonald Storza Exhibition Endowment Fund, The Fay and Barrett Howell Exhibition Fund, Forward Arts Foundation Exhibition Endowment Fund, Helen S. Lanier Endowment Fund, Isobel Anne Fraser–Nancy Fraser Parker Exhibition Endowment Fund, John H. and Wilhelmina D. Harland Exhibition Endowment Fund, Katherine Murphy Riley Special Exhibition Endowment Fund, Margaretta Taylor Exhibition Fund, and the RJR Nabisco Exhibition Endowment Fund.