Michelle Obama meets 2-year-old who was mesmerized by her new portrait


Parker Curry, 2, went from standing in awe before a painting of Michelle Obama at the National Portrait Gallery to having a Taylor Swift dance party with the former first lady in her living room.
At the portrait's unveiling last month, Obama said she was thinking of girls who "will come to this place and they will look up and they will see an image of someone who looks like them hanging on the wall of this great American institution." When Curry went to the gallery last week, another visitor took a photo of her staring intently at the modernist painting of Obama, and it went viral. Her mother, Jessica, took Parker and her infant sister, Ava, specifically to see the portraits of the Obamas. She told BuzzFeed News she was trying to get Parker to "to turn around so I could take a picture, but she wouldn't cooperate. She just wanted to stare at it. She was fascinated."
On Tuesday, Obama tweeted that she just had just met Curry at her house for one incredible play date, and shared a video of the pair dancing. "Parker, I'm so glad I had the chance to meet you today (and for the dance party)!" Obama said. "Keep on dreaming big for yourself ... and maybe one day I'll proudly look up at a portrait of you!"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Trump executive order targets homeless
Speed Read It will now be easier for states and cities to remove homeless people from the streets
-
Columbia pays $200M to settle with White House
Speed Read The Trump administration accused the school of failing to protect its Jewish students amid pro-Palestinian protests
-
Florida judge and DOJ make Epstein trouble for Trump
Speed Read The Trump administration's request to release grand jury transcripts from the Epstein investigation was denied
-
Trump attacks Obama as Epstein furor mounts
Speed Read The Trump administration accused the Obama administration of 'treasonous' behavior during the 2016 election
-
Trump administration releases MLK files
Speed Read Newly released documents on the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did not hold any new revelations, King historians said
-
Japan's prime minister feels pressure after election losses
Speed Read Shigeru Ishiba has vowed to remain in office
-
President diagnosed with 'chronic venous insufficiency'
Speed Read The vein disorder has given Trump swollen ankles and visible bruising on his hands
-
'Bawdy' Trump letter supercharges Epstein scandal
Speed Read The Wall Street Journal published details of Trump's alleged birthday letter to Epstein