Michelle and Sasha Obama Listening to Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention August 2008

Elizabeth Peyton’s style has been described as a hybrid of Realism and Conceptualism. Her figurative subjects are instantly recognizable, and yet the broad, bold strokes and jewel-tones she renders them in create an indefinite context in which the subjects exist. Michelle and Sasha Obama Listening to Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention was painted in 2008, before the November election, when Senator Barack Obama was campaigning to become the 44th President of the United States. In it, the future First Lady is shown listening to and watching her husband’s convention speech, her youngest daughter Sasha resting her head in her lap. Somewhat premonitory, the portrait reflects a poignant moment in the family’s lives, a brief moment of repose in an otherwise hyperactive time, and only months before they are thrust into the ceaseless limelight of the White House. The day after the election, when it was declared that Senator Obama was now the president-elect, an additional announcement was made: Peyton’s portrait would join the artist’s retrospective Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton at the New Museum, a belated yet fitting addition to the exhibition.