Columbus artist Cynthia Golden-Frasier discovered that a portrait she painted more than a decade ago is now part of the permanent collection of the Barack Obama Presidential Library. She found the work after an online search last week showed it on the official site of the National Archives.
Golden-Frasier said the discovery was "an incredible and joyful surprise," but also "bittersweet" because Pastor Adair Washington died of cancer in 2021 and did not see the result of a gift she had commissioned.
Cynthia Golden-Frasier and Pastor Adair Washington
Golden-Frasier painted the portrait as a labor of love for Pastor Adair Washington of Indianapolis, Indiana. Washington called the work "Michelle Obama: A Fabulous First Lady" and told Golden-Frasier that she would be sending it to the White House as a gift for the First Family.
Washington also told her the painting would go through months of rigorous security screening with the Secret Service. Golden-Frasier said she heard nothing further after assuming the piece had found its home in Washington, D.C.
National Archives Search
The portrait pictures Michelle Obama with Natasha “Sasha” Obama and Malia Obama. Golden-Frasier, an award-winning painter and fine art educator, focuses on portraiture and African American and Native American culture and traditions, which fits the subject matter she chose for the painting.
The search result changed the portrait’s known path. What was believed to be a gift bound for the White House later appeared in the permanent collection of the Barack Obama Presidential Library, creating a public record of its place in a presidential archive.
Barack Obama Presidential Library
Golden-Frasier said, "Knowing her vision, generosity, and belief in my art live on in such a historic archive is truly a profound tribute to her memory." How the portrait moved from the White House gift process into the Barack Obama Presidential Library collection is not explained, leaving the National Archives listing as the clearest record of where the painting ended up.
