Gheorghemas Interlude: I'm That Type of Guy

The National Portrait Gallery is one of the more underrated museums in the Smithsonian system, suffering a bit from its location several blocks off the National Mall, and its relative lack of marketing attention. It might be my favorite spot to see art in the Nation's Capital.

We took a family trip there a few days ago as a way to get out of the house and not spend the entire holiday period laying on our asses and overindulging. Our primary objective was to see the new portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama recently unveiled in the Gallery. We didn't have a ton of time, so our trip was mainly focused on the Presidential wing, though we did see a handful of other notable portions of the collection.

Because you're an erudite bunch, I thought I'd share my favorite images from the day. Some struck me because of the artistic expression, others for different reasons entirely. In any case, here are a few of my favorite things, portrait category:

James K. Polk looked a lot like Colin Farrell. I was amused by this.

Bill Clinton's portrait is an abstract by Chuck Close, himself accused of sexual assault. There's a lot to unpack here. It's visually fascinating, and inspires mixed emotions, if the people around me were a representative sample. 

George W. Bush occupies a wall directly opposite from his father, gallery-wise. Bush 41 is depicted in a suit, formally. His son chose to be portrayed casually, which seems to me to fit his character.

Elaine de Kooning's portrait of John F. Kennedy was the most unique of all the Presidential images, abstract and expressionist. 

I hadn't seen this view of Abraham Lincoln before. Dude aged a lot in the last four years of his life.

I didn't love Amy Sherald's portrait of Michelle Obama, to be honest. The skin tone seems gray and flat, and the likeness of Mrs. Obama's face isn't great. But the artist captured the former first lady's elegance and grace in the carriage of her wrists and arms. I couldn't stop looking at those details.

Norman Rockwell painted Richard Nixon. I did not know that. The artist said that he found his subject difficult, and ultimately chose to paint him in a flattering light because he wanted his subjects to feel good about themselves. It's a Nixon I don't think I've ever seen.

Kehinde Wiley's portrait of Barack Obama was my second-favorite image. It's visually remarkable in its attention to detail - the folds of Obama's suit and lines on his hands are perfect, for example - and its contrasting colors. It juxtaposes a serious man with an unusual background, a reminder that Obama moved comfortably between the most formal environments and the most relaxed with equanimity.

After we'd seen the Presidental portrait gallery, we wandered through several other halls. When I entered the room that contained Michelle Obama's portrait, I was immediately attracted to an image. It wasn't that of the First Lady. On a wall by itself, an immense 6' by 8', all pop and flash, Kehinde Wiley's (the same artist who painted President Obama's portrait above) 2005 study of LL Cool J dazzled. It's worth the trip to the Gallery just to see this single painting. It's stunning.