larsen nichols- Michelle Obama's portrait

https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/12/politics/michelle-obama-portrait/index.html

Earlier today, the official portraits of Michelle and Barack Obama that will hang in the National Portrait Gallery were unveiled in Washington D.C. Michelle's portrait stole the show, because while it was beautiful, some people believed it bore little resemblance to her. But Philip Kennicott, an art critic for the Washington Post, has an explanation for this. He acknowledges that it's not as photographically accurate as Barack's portrait, but that the style of the artist (Amy Sherald) uses skin tones painted in a gray scale to mimic the black and white photography that was the most accessible form of visual documentation to African Americans in the 19th century. He further defends the painting in stating that portraits are an art form open to experimentation.

This article was written by Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large, earlier this afternoon. he is a white male, which gives him a certain perspective, especially when commenting on the portrait of a black woman. Because this article was written so soon after the unveiling of the portraits, I'm sure few people have had the opportunity to examine them in-depth yet or really interview the artists about their work.
Personally, I think the portrait of Michelle Obama looks similar to her, but not exactly accurate. However, after reading this article, it occurred to me that it doesn't matter so much whether or not it bears an exact resemblance, but rather if it is providing representation, and that is exactly the case here. Michelle's portrait, as the first black woman in a long line of white first ladies, will provide inspiration for girls and girls of color for years and years to  come, and that's  what's really important. And the painting is beautifully done and just stunning to look at in general.

Synthesis: The events of this article can be connected to Elaine deKooning's portrait of JFK in 1963. This painting too, caused the rise of some controversy due to its experimentalism and appearance of being quickly-painted and improvisational.