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Barack Obama, born 1961
In February 2007, when Barack Obama announced his candidacy for president in front of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois, where Abraham Lincoln had given his "House Divided" speech, few pundits gave him a chance to become America's forty-fourth president. However, the financial crisis just months before the election and the tremendous enthusiasm he generated as a candidate propelled him to a historic victory in 2008 as the first African American to hold that office. The Affordable Care Act and the killing of Osama bin Laden by a Navy Seal team are considered the high points of President Obama's first term. Before become president, Obama had been a community organizer in Chicago and served in the Illinois State Senate (1997-2004) and the US Senate (2004-8). Elected to a second term in 2012, he confronts daunting challenges: a sluggish economy, massive deficits, and the dangers of international terrorism and nuclear proliferation.
Chuck Close, an artist famous since the late 1960s for his large-scale heads, suggests both Obama's challenges and his optimism in these tapestries. Based on photographs taken in 2012 and created as a campaign fundraiser, the pair capture the president's serious demeanor and his ready smile in a scale that can be read as both approachable and authoritative.
Chuck Close, 2012 |