16/06/2026
It takes a whole team of dedicated professionals to bring a great work of art from the artist’s studio into public view. We were honored to be selected my Njideka Akunyili Crosby to be a part of the process of getting the first portrait of Barack Obama and Michelle Obama on the wall! It was an exciting challenge to frame a 9 x 10 ft painting on paper in Los Angeles and get it to Chicago. We loved working with the artist’s studio and are especially grateful to Andre! We have some suspicion that Helen Molesworth and Susan Dackerman had something to do with this. We could not have done it without help from Fine Art Stretcher Bars who produced the mounting panel, Architectural Plastics, Inc. who seamed the 6mm Optium Museum UltraVue TruLife non-glare Optium Museum Acrylic, and the amazing facilities and team Elite_Art_Enterprises_LLC who played an essential role in the final assembly, packing, and shipping of the work. And that’s only the LA team! The art world is not just an industry, it’s an ecosystem. Finally, the Paradise Framing team that worked on this project includes Michael Cataldi, Megan Russell, Madeline Fletcher-Uranga, and Samuel Karakas Warner. Here are a few of our behind the scenes images!