Former President Barack Obama and his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, returned to the White House on Wednesday to unveil oil portraits, following a 1960s tradition.
“Barack and Michelle, welcome home,” said President Joe Biden shortly before inviting the couple – who had not returned as a couple to the presidential residence since January 2017 – to present the portraits.
“It’s great to be back,” Obama said when it was his turn to speak, praising Biden, his former vice president, as someone who became a “true partner and a true friend.”
The White House portrait collection dates back to the country’s first leader, President George Washington, and includes every president since. Many are on display in the halls and rooms of the White House.
The tradition of a sitting president inviting his predecessor in office was interrupted in the last administration, when former Republican President Donald Trump avoided doing so with Obama, whom he harshly criticized during his campaign; on several occasions he even expressed doubts about the birth origin of the Democratic president.
Artist Robert McCurd painted former President Obama, while painter Sharon Sprung was chosen by Michelle.
The White House Historical Association, which has funded the portraits since 1965, says recent leaders and first ladies chose the artists for their portraits before leaving office and then approved the works before adding them to the collection.
* Some of the information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
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