“She had this wonder that was silent and yet seemed to be saying something very big at the same time.”
ICYMI, the official portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama were formally unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery last month.
Saul Loeb / AFP / Getty Images
The stunning modernist painting of the former first lady was done by artist Amy Sherald.
Mark Wilson / Getty Images
"I’m also thinking about all of the young people, particularly girls and girls of color, who, in years ahead, will come to this place and they will look up and they will see an image of someone who looks like them hanging on the wall of this great American institution," said Michelle Obama in her speech.
"I know the kind of impact that will have on their lives because I was one of those girls and, when I think about those future generations and generations past, I think, again, wow. Wow, what an incredible journey we are on together in this country. We have come so far," she said.
Saul Loeb / AFP / Getty Images
Well, check this out. Here's a photo taken at the National Portrait Gallery on Thursday of a young girl marveling at the former first lady.
The picture was taken by Ben Hines, a 37-year-old North Carolina resident who was visiting DC to see his mom, Donna.
Ben told BuzzFeed News the little girl and her family were standing in front of them in line to view the portrait.
He said the unidentifed girl was excited and full of energy. As her mom tried to get her to turn around to face her for a picture, he said the girl would not cooperate and just wanted to stare at the painting.
Supplied.
"It was so touching and uplifting for me to see this beautiful child looking at a beautiful portrait of a powerful woman," Ben told BuzzFeed News. "I was so delighted to have been in the right place at the right time."
"I think we were all just smiling, and her joy and her awe was infectious," he said.
Donna said time seemed to stop as everyone around the little girl watched the moment.
"It's hard to describe in words," Donna said. "She had such wonder on her face and her entire body just stopped as she looked at her, and she had this wonder that was silent and yet seemed to be saying something very big at the same time."
Ben's image has been shared thousands of times on Facebook alone, but has also been cross-posted by other people to Instagram and Twitter.
Ben Hines
Sherald, the painter who created the portrait, also shared a different photo of the little girl on Instagram, with the hashtag #representationmatters.
Sherald wrote:
Feeling all the feels. 😭 When I look at this picture I think back to my first field trip in elementary school to a museum. I had only seen paintings in encyclopedias up to that point in my life. There was a show up of work by painter @thebobartlett whose work still inspires me to this day. There was a painting of a black man standing in front of a house. I don't remember a lot about my childhood, but I do have a few emotional memories etched into my mind forever and seeing that painting of a man that looked like he could be my father stopped me dead in my tracks. This was my first time seeing real paintings that weren't in a book and also weren't painted in another century. I didn't realize that none of them had me in them until I saw that painting of Bo's. I knew I wanted to be an artist already, but seeing that painting made me realize that I could. What dreams may come? #representationmatters
But he said that seeing the painting in person was a revelation.
"There's a palpable sense with both of the Obama portraits of excitement and reverence among the people standing to view them, and I think that's infectious," he said. "The little girl reflected that.
"The picture I posted shows awe and wonder, but there's also just real joy among those viewing it."
Donna said it was "a gift" to experience the moment.
"To be able to see with my son that little girl look at the first African American first lady — there really just aren't words for that."
Are you the parents of the little girl? Or do you know the security guard in the photo? Email david.mack@buzzfeed.com
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/2tbYd2F
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