Official portraits of Barack, Michelle Obama break the mould

The official portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama are nothing like the traditional portraits of former first couples.

Barack and Michelle Obama on stage as their official portraits are unveiled at a ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, Picture: AP.

As the official portraits of Barack Obama and his wife Michelle were unveiled in Washington today, the loud “oohs” and “aahs” from the crowd said it all.

These were not your traditional portraits of a former president and a former first lady.

Obama is sitting on a chair amid a mountain of bright plants and flowers, looking lost in thought. In her own portrait Mrs Obama sits in front of a grey backdrop with her face resting on her hands, staring ahead impassively and wearing a billowing white dress with coloured patterns, designed by Milly designer Michelle Smith.

“How about that, that’s pretty sharp,” Mr Obama said as his own portrait — painted by African-American artist Kehunde Wiley — was unveiled at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington.

“I tried to negotiate less grey hair, and Kehinde’s artistic integrity would not allow him to do what I asked. I tried to negotiate smaller ears, struck out on that as well,” joked Mr Obama.

“I had to explain that I’ve got enough political problems without you making me look like Napoleon. We’ve got to bring it down just a touch. And that’s what he did.”

The flowers in Barack Obama’s portrait denote different aspects of his life; Michelle Obama is wearing a dress designed by Milly designer Michelle Smith.

Mr Obama looked more pleased with the portrait of his wife which he said showed off not just her intelligence and grace but also her “hotness”.

Mr Obama said she was “little overwhelmed” by being her official portrait which will hang separately to Mr Obama’s in the National Portrait Gallery.

She said it would have an impact especially on young African-American girls.

“They will see an image of someone who looks like them hanging on the walls of this great American institution ... And I know the kind of impact that will have on their lives because I was one of those girls,” she said.

Since he left office Mr Obama has walked a fine line between staying above politics and taking the occasional shot at his successor Donald Trump who delights in taking shots at him.

But his only veiled reference to politics yesterday was saying to the crowd “we miss you”, to which some shouted back “we miss you too”.

But otherwise, the Obamas kept politics at bay as they watched the unveiling in front of an A-list invitation only crowd which included former vice-president Joe Biden.

Their official portraits of both Mr and Mrs Obama will be displayed in the National Portrait Gallery which holds the only complete collection of portraits of American presidents outside the White House.

The Obamas both chose prominent African-American artists to paint their portrait. Mr Obama chose Mr Wiley, a New York-based graduate from the Yale University School of Art who is famous for large scale paintings of young African-Americans.

Mr Obama’s portrait has flowers in the background signifying different aspects of his life — chrysanthemums the official flower of his pre-presidential home of Chicago, jasmines for Mr Obama’s childhood in Hawaii and African blue lilies for his late Kenyan father.

Mrs Obama was painted by Baltimore-based artist Amy Sherald and features the artist’s distinctive grey tones.

Cameron Stewart is The Australian’s Washington correspondent and US Contributor for Sky News Australia