No President and First Lady had ever allowed their portrait artists so much freedom in design and composition as the Obamas.  Just flip through the portraits of the preceding 44 Presidents, and you may notice a theme.

Barack and Michelle Obama’s official portraits were unveiled yesterday in front of a crowd at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.  Like many good portraits, the occasion was packed with symbolism.  For starters, they chose Abraham Lincoln’s birthday to unveil the paintings.  Now, 153 years after the abolition of slavery in the