Obamas get their White House portraits

The paintings, destined to hang alongside those of generations of previous first couples in the White House, were unveiled by the Obamas themselves.

Deafening cheers sounded through the packed East Room as they pulled up the plain blue cloths covering the art works.

Obama, the country's first Black president, was depicted by Robert McCurdy looking straight out, hands in pockets, his dark suit contrasting against a startlingly white background, and shadow falling over half of his face.

Michelle, who was painted by Sharon Sprung, posed in a light blue gown, seated on a red sofa.

Obama joked that McCurdy's signature precision and sharp lines meant he "refused to hide any of my grey hairs," but said the directness of the style countered the tendency where presidents "often get airbrushed," getting "mythical status, especially after you've gone and people forget all the stuff they didn't like."

The cheers kept coming during President Joe Biden's speech kicking off the event and the volume rose further when the Obamas took the podium.

Michelle Obama veered into distinctly political territory with a powerful homage to US democracy and barely disguised criticism of Trump.

Michelle Obama reduced the room to silence with her observation that growing up as a Black girl in Chicago she'd assumed "she was never supposed to be up there next to Jacqueline Kennedy" or other famous -- always white -- first ladies.