Existing comment:
Obama 2012 (I)
Obama 2012 (II)
Barack Obama, born 1961
In 2008, Barack Obama made history as the first African American to be elected president, capping a meteoric rise in politics and concluding a campaign that encouraged progress and optimism. Even though he entered the White House as the United States was undergoing its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Obama expeditiously enacted the Affordable Care Act, which extended health benefits to millions of previously uninsured Americans. During his tenure, the mission to kill al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden was successful, but the president's pledge to close the Guantanamo prison went unrealized. When Obama left office, the feelings of solidarity that had been fostered in his campaign languished.
Chuck Close took two large-format Polaroid photographs of President Obama in 2012 (one smiling, one serious) and used them to create double portraits in a variety of media. In January 2013, Ian and Annette Cumming loaned this set of tapestries to the National Portrait Gallery, where they were placed on view for President Obama's second inauguration.
Chuck Close, 2012 |