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Spotlight on Kehinde Wiley
Kehinde Wiley is on display at the National Gallery in London until 18 April! If you want to prepare your visit, we've got you covered on the coolest contemporary artist of them all. Did you know that he was the first black artist to paint the official portrait of a US president? That he portrays ghetto heroes in the manner of 17th century portrait painters? That he has painted stars like Michael Jackson, Notorious BIG and Samuel Eto'o? All this information about Kehinde Wiley, the "street portraitist" in our playlist of the week!

David C. Ward, historian at the National Portrait Gallery, discusses the meaning of the similarities between the portrait of LL Cool J by Kehinde Wiley and the portrait of John D. Rockefeller by John Singer Sargent.


Content produced by
 : Smithsonian Education

On the agenda
video - 0:47
LL Cool J: James Todd Smith, LL Cool J, by Kehinde Wiley
By: Smithsonian Education
video - 2:33
Sketchbook: Kehinde Wiley
By: Several Circles
video - 13:56
“Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic” video series
By: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
video - 9:12
Kehinde Wiley: The Truth about Obama’s Painter
By: Bartsy
video - 14:22
The Obama Portrait: Kehinde Wiley’s Painting in Context
By: Amor Sciendi
podcast - 58
Kehinde Wiley – Portraits, Power, & Presence
By: Stuff about Things
video - 3:42
Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic
By: Brooklyn Museum