Top image: Triple Portrait of Charles I, (2007) by Kehinde Wiley.

Former president Barack Obama has selected artist Kehinde Wiley to paint his official presidential portrait.

Known for creating large, vibrant paitings of young African American men in the style of the Old Masters – mixing classical troupes with hip hop street fashion – Wiley’s previous subjects include LL Cool J, Grandmaster Flash, Biggie Smalls and Michael Jackson.

Former first lady Michelle Obama has chosen Baltimore-based painter Amy Sherald to paint her portrait. Wiley and Sherald will be the first black artists hired by the Smithsonian for a portrait of a former president since they started commissioning portraits in 1994.

The Obamas’s portraits will be unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC next year.