Former US President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, were guests at the White House on Wednesday. They have unveiled their official state portraits with incumbent President Joe Biden.
Robert McCurdy portrayed Barack Obama very realistically, on a bright white background. A method he also used for pictures of Toni Morrison and Nelson Mandela. The former First Lady is drawn by Sharon Sprung.
It is customary for a former president to visit his successor for such a ceremony, but President Donald Trump did not organize the event. Biden has done that to Obama now. “I’ve met quite a few people with more integrity,” President Biden – Obama’s vice president from 2009 to 2017 – said at the unveiling of the photos. “Nothing could have prepared me better for the presidency than to be by your side for eight years.”
On the other hand, Obama expressed gratitude that Biden is now continuing the work they started together. “Thanks to your position, your strength, and perhaps most of all, your belief in democracy and the American people, the country is now in a better position than it was when you started working. We should all be grateful to you for that,” Obama said.
