New presidential portrait artist receives scrutiny over past paintings

This week former President Barack Obama’s official portrait was unveiled at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.

It’s considered a rite of passage for presidents, all of whom have their portraits hanging in the museum.

The artist who painted the president’s portrait has made the national spotlight but has also caught some negative attention for some of his other artwork.

Artist Kehinde Wiley was the first African-American artist to paint a presidential portrait, which happened to be of the first African-American president.

“When I first saw it, it’s a very attractive painting. I think you would call it decorative,” said Adair Margo.

Margo, who owned an art gallery for 25 years and was a chair of the Texas Commission of Arts and chair of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities under President George W. Bush.

Margo talks about the new look of the president’s portrait.

“Most of them are more traditional in that they are set in the White House, since they are being commemorated for that role,” Margo said.

We’ve seen many presidential portraits from the past and they look, well, presidential — in an office, sitting at a desk or standing in front of books usually with dark and solid colors.

“Bill Clinton’s I remember was very casual,” Margo said.

Margo also talked about the style in which the president was painted.

“It’s not three-dimensional; it’s flatter, which makes it more modern,” Margo said.

President John F. Kennedy’s portrait also has a modern look.

Wiley is also facing scrutiny for past works that depict black women decapitating white women.

“A lot of the art, especially in recent times, loves the notion of the shock,” Margo said.

Margo told ABC-7 the concept of the artwork isn’t anything new.

“There’s a subject that many painters would have done, of Judith cutting off the head of Holofernes,” Margo said.

The painting has been replicated time and time again.

Could this change be the future of presidential portraits?

“I think on who the president is and whether we go back to a president that’s more traditional only time will tell,” Margo said.

The presidential artwork by Wiley started trending on social media a few days after the unveiling.

Some are now saying the artwork may have been finished in China and it’s garnering opposition because of that.