The Smithsonian has two new portraits, of the former first couple. Portrait-painter Kehinde Wiley explains his portrait of Barack: "When you look at this painting, there's sure an amazingly handsome man," he said.  "But there's also botanicals that are going on there that nod to his personal story. ... In a very symbolic way, what I'm doing is charting his path on earth." OK, I'll bite.  Symbolic botanicals?  That's, like, symbolic of, ya know, his past... Michelle Obama's portrait, by artist Amy Sherald, featured the former first lady in a seated position, wearing a geometric pattern dress and against a light blue background. She commended Sherald's work. "Let's just start by saying, 'Wow,' again," she said after her portrait was unveiled. Yeah, I'm with her.  Wow.  I think that's a term of art employed by critics and by auctioneers...(Read Full Post)