January 2022

Cover Design

Barack Obama by Kehinde Wiley, oil on canvas, 2018. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. The National Portrait Gallery is grateful to the following lead donors for their support of the Obama portraits: Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg; Judith Kern and Kent Whealy; Tommie L. Pegues and Donald A. Capoccia. © 2018 Kehinde Wiley. Courtesy of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.

The presidential portrait, along with that of First Lady Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama will be exhibited at the High Fri., Jan. 14-Mon., May 30.

The National Portrait Gallery is grateful to the following lead donors for their support of the Obama portraits: Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg; Judith Kern and Kent Whealy; Tommie L. Pegues and Donald A. Capoccia.

The Obama Portraits Tour, The High — The High Museum of Art presents the portraits of former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama by artists Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, respectively, as part of “The Obama Portraits Tour,” organized by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. The portraits will be on view in the High’s Stent Family Wing special exhibition galleries.

“We are honored to present these portraits as the exclusive Southeastern venue for the tour and to afford our audiences an intimate experience with the works,” said Rand Suffolk, the High’s Nancy and Holcombe T. Green, Jr., director. “They demonstrate the incredible talents of Amy Sherald and Kehinde Wiley, two artists the Museum holds in high esteem, and serve as important records of a historic period in our nation’s history.”

“We view the country as our community and believe in the power of portraiture to encourage both empathy and inspiration across audiences,” said Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery. “‘The Obama Portraits Tour’ is an opportunity to meet people where they are, in collaboration with our peer institutions, and offer audiences in different parts of the United States an opportunity to see these portraits firsthand.”

In addition to the portraits, the exhibition features an approximately eight-minute video providing background on the commissioning of the portraits by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and putting them into the context of the national collection of presidential portraits. During the run of the exhibition, the High will present public programs including a conversation with the exhibition co-curator, host student field trips, and offer teachers professional development opportunities presented in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery.

The Portrait Gallery holds the nation’s only complete collection of U.S. presidential portraits that is accessible to the public. It began commissioning presidential portraits in 1994 with George H.W. Bush and commissioned its first portrait of a First Lady in 2006 with Hillary Rodham Clinton.

$8.25 each for the High’s members and $16.50 each for Museum Pass holders and the general public (ages 6 and over), * except as noted below.. Admission is free for ages 5 and under, but reservations are required. The High at the Woodruff Arts Center,1280 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta, 30309. 404-733-4200.

The ticket includes access to the entire Museum. Due to the nature and popularity of the exhibition, tickets are sold for specific time slots. Advance tickets must be purchased through the High’s website. There are no refunds or exchanges for exhibition tickets, and tickets are non-transferable.

During the run of the exhibition, the High will host four free days, when admission is complimentary for all guests. (reservations required). Those dates will include two Second Sundays (Feb. 13 and March 13, 2022), President’s Day (Monday, Feb. 21, 2022) and March 9, 2022. Reservations for these dates will be available in 2022.

* Except for admission during Friday Jazz and HIGH Frequency Friday events, which have a higher ticket price, and on free admission days (see above).

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