Njideka Akunyili Crosby, a Nigerian-born visual artist based in Los Angeles, has unveiled a portrait of Barack and Michelle Obama titled The Obamas: Springing Forth (2026), commissioned by the Obama Foundation for the Obama Presidential Centre in Chicago. The painting is now on display in the museum's main lobby and will be part of a larger exhibition celebrating the Obamas' legacy. Known for her layered, collage-heavy style that blends painting, photo transfer, printmaking, and drawing, Akunyili embeds intimate narrative details within her work. The portrait includes subtle references such as a depiction of Michelle Obama's childhood home and nods to the Grammys won by both Obamas for their memoirs. Akunyili, who was born and raised in Enugu, is the daughter of the late Dora Akunyili, former director general of NAFDAC, and Chike Akunyili, a surgeon. She moved to the United States intending to study medicine but switched to art during her senior year at Swarthmore College, where she discovered a stronger passion for studio classes than organic chemistry. She later earned an MFA from Yale University's School of Art. Her work often explores the duality of living between Nigeria and America, reflecting the complexities of diasporic identity. In 2018, she created a large-scale mural for the Museum of Contemporary Art, Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, becoming the second artist to contribute to the museum's new mural initiative. Her art was also featured in the 2022 exhibition Women Painting Women at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
Njideka Akunyili Crosby was commissioned to paint the Obamas, a couple who both won Grammys for memoirs about identity and belonging, using a technique rooted in layered personal and cultural fragments. Her portrait includes visual references to Michelle Obama's childhood home and the couple's Grammy wins. The artwork mirrors its subjects not just in theme but in form—both the painting and the Obamas' public narratives are built from carefully assembled pieces of personal history. This convergence makes the portrait less a depiction of a legacy than a reflection of how legacy is constructed.
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