The unveiling of her portrait of Barack and Michelle Obama at the Obama Presidential Center marks another significant milestone in the ascent of Njideka Akunyili Crosby, one of the most acclaimed artists of her generation. Okechukwu Uwaezuoke writes
Before her “Bush Babies” drew global attention with its near-$3.4 million sale at Christie’s in 2018, Njideka Akunyili Crosby was scarcely known outside specialist art circles. Born in Enugu, she moved to the US at 16 with her sister, Ijeoma, after her family secured a visa through the lottery programme, and was still working in relative obscurity. The sale marked a turning point. Almost overnight, she emerged from the anonymity of the studio onto the global stage, her name among a new generation of boundary-pushing Nigerian diaspora artists.
Eight years on, the Yale University School of Art MFA graduate returned to international attention. In April, she was announced as one of the artists commissioned by the Obama Foundation to produce a site-specific work for the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, which opened on June 19. Her contribution is a portrait of former US President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama, prominently displayed in the museum’s main lobby.
