After being closed since November last year for the pandemic, Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery would reopen for visitors from 14th May. The visitors would see a new portrait in the exhibition, the portrait of the 45th President Donald Trump.
Donald Trump’s Portrait:
The Pandemic delayed the addition of the portrait, therefore it would now be installed in the reopening. A photograph of Trump has been installed while the official portrait of the former President is being completed. The photograph was captured by award-winning photographer Pari Dukovic for Time Magazine. The portrait shows him sitting in the Oval Office at the Resolute Desk.
The photograph has many details including the 5 flags in the background which represent the 5 branches of the armed forces is – Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. Also includes the portrait of Andrew Jackson and Benjamin Franklin. It was taken on the day Trump announced his intention of seeking reelection. The portrait would be replacing the portrait of Barack Obama. The Museum has not shared any other details including the detail of the former first lady.
Barack Obama’s Portrait:
The photograph is replacing the 44th President Barack Obama’s portrait painted by Kehinde Wiley. The portrait is set to be on a year-long tour since June, across 5 cities along with the painting of former First Lady Michelle Obama painted by Amy Sherald. The paintings are to be shipped to the Art Institute of Chicago. They would be on exhibition there starting June 18. Collage poster ‘Hope’ from Obama’s first campaign by Shepard Fairey would be on exhibition.
America’s Presidents is an exhibition on the second floor of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC. It has a complete collection of the President Portraits with a description of the President’s tenure, a brief summary of the time in the office alongside the portrait. The description next to Trump’s portrait includes that he was twice impeached and twice acquitted. Along with his work on the low unemployment rate, immigration restrictions, and appointment of the federal judges. The detailed summary is written by the Museum’s curators and historians.
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