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Watch the Obamas unveil their Smithsonian portraits and cry

BRB, sobbing.

Nicole Gallucci

on February 12, 2018

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Looking for something to cry at today? You're in luck! The Obamas just unveiled their official portraits.

On Monday the former POTUS and FLOTUS pulled the curtains off of stunning new portraits of themselves that will hang in Washington, D.C. Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.

It should go without saying, but our hearts were 100 percent not ready.

First up was Michelle, who worked with Baltimore-based artist Amy Sherald. Sherald painted Michelle seated in a dress designed by Michelle Smith’s label Milly.

Via Giphy

"I'm thinking about all the young people, particularly girls and girls of color who in years ahead 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 institute," the former first lady said, admiring her portrait.

Next was Barack, who worked with artist Kehinde Wiley. Wiley created an epic seven-foot portrait of Obama sitting on a chair in front of a background of flowers and greenery.

Via Giphy

"How about that? That's pretty sharp," Barack said while admiring the painting.

The garden includes chrysanthemums, the official flower of Obama's Chicago home, jasmine, a reference to his childhood home of Hawaii, and African blue lilies to celebrate his late father, who was Kenyan.

Barack went on to thank Wiley and Sherald for their remarkable work, adorably giving Sherald a special shoutout for capturing his wife's brilliance.

"Amy, I want to thank you for so spectacularly capturing the grace, and beauty, and intelligence, and charm, and hotness of the woman that I love," Obama said with a chuckle.

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He then gave a special shout out to "his man" Joe Biden, of course, and was sure to thank his mother-in-law for passing down the "hotness genes" to his wife.

WOW. Help us, please.

Needless to say, the internet essentially broke at the sight of these works of art.

Some people couldn't help but crack "into the bushes" jokes.

But most people, including Chrissy Teigen, were busy getting emotional.

"I missed you all," Barack said to the crowd before stepping back, to which they shouted, "We missed you!"

Following the unveiling, Barack shared additional thoughts on the portraits on Instagram. "Today, @KehindeWiley and @ASherald became the first black artists to create official presidential portraits for the Smithsonian. To call this experience humbling would be an understatement," he captioned two photos from the event.

"Thanks to Kehinde and Amy, generations of Americans — and young people from all around the world — will visit the National Portrait Gallery and see this country through a new lens. They’ll walk out of that museum with a better sense of the America we all love. Clear-eyed. Big-hearted. Inclusive and optimistic. And I hope they’ll walk out more empowered to go and change their worlds."

And Michelle followed with heartfelt comments of her own.

"As a young girl, even in my wildest dreams, I never could have imagined this moment. Nobody in my family has ever had a portrait - there are no portraits of the Robinsons or the Shields from the South Side of Chicago," she wrote on Instagram.

"I am so proud to help make that kind of history. But the fact is that none of this would be possible without the extraordinary artist and woman behind this portrait, @asherald. Thank you, Amy – it was a joy to work with you and get to know you."

You can see the portraits in the museum starting tomorrow.

BRB, sobbing uncontrollably while simultaneously planning a trip to the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.

Topics Michelle Obama Barack Obama Politics

Nicole Gallucci

Nicole is a Senior Editor at Mashable. She primarily covers entertainment and digital culture trends, and in her free time she can be found watching TV, sending voice notes, or going viral on Twitter for admiring knitwear. You can follow her on Twitter @nicolemichele5.