So, About Michelle Obama's Official Portrait…

Today, the official portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama were unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. New York-based artist Kehinde Wiley and Baltimore artist Amy Sherald were selected to do the portraits of the former POTUS and FLOTUS, respectively. Barack Obama’s portrait drew instant raves. Michelle’s, though, caused a bit more conversation.

Sherald is known for her vibrant and striking life-size portraits of black subjects. Her works feature bright colors in the background and clothing, but Sherald paints the skin of her subjects in gray tones, explaining that the use of gray allows her to “subversively comment about race without feeling as though I’m excluding the viewer.”