Obamas unveil new joint portrait ahead of presidential center opening

Barack and Michelle Obama have unveiled a new joint portrait that will become part of the public identity of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, arriving just days before the campus opens to visitors on June 19.

The work, titled The Obamas: Springing Forth, 2026, was created by Nigerian-born, Los Angeles-based artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby. According to reporting, the painting is more than 9 feet tall and 10 feet wide, and it will be displayed in the center’s Hope and Change Lobby, a public space.

A portrait built around personal history

Reporting says the image reflects different parts of the Obamas’ lives together, including family, marriage and Barack Obama’s presidency. It also incorporates specific references, including Michelle Obama’s childhood home, charms Barack Obama collected from constituents, a bust of Martin Luther King Jr. and the cover of Stevie Wonder’s Talking Book.

Michelle Obama said the couple was honored to have Akunyili Crosby create the portrait for the center. The unveiling took place on June 14, and the story was published publicly on June 15.

Opening week context

The portrait arrives as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for its first public opening. The Obama Foundation says the campus, which spans 19.3 acres in Chicago’s Jackson Park, will open on June 19, 2026, and will be open daily and free of charge.

That makes the portrait part of the opening-week experience for a major civic and cultural project tied to the Obamas’ legacy. The foundation’s campus page describes the center as a public place for all to enjoy, while the new artwork adds a high-profile art-world element to the launch.

What comes next is straightforward: the public opening on June 19, with the portrait set to greet visitors in the Hope and Change Lobby when the campus begins admitting guests.