Michael Zajakowski While a presidential portrait may not seem, at first glance, an especially difficult photograph to render accurately and effectively, the responsibility of distilling the presidency of Barack Obama in a single photograph required a unique set of values. What the photographer has done so effectively is anticipate the close examination and appreciation of a seminal figure in American history in the same way that Gilbert Stuart painted George Washington in 1795 and Mathew Brady photographed Abraham Lincoln in 1860. When future generations are able to better contextualize the Obama presidency and the attendant racism that it exposed, they may consider this enigmatic and true record of Mr. Obama as something more than a portrait of a man, but one of a time.
Seated Portrait of Obama shortly before leaving the White House.