Maureen Mullarkey is a painter who writes on art and culture. She is a senior contributor to The Federalist and keeps the weblog Studio Matters. Her essays have appeared in various publications, among them: The Nation, Crisis, Commonweal, Hudson Review, Arts, Newsday, The New Criterion, The Magazine Antiques, American Arts Quarterly and The Weekly Standard. She was fired by First Things for the same reason she was hired: pungent writing.
At the end of each presidency, the Smithsonian commissions an official portrait of the outgoing royals for the National Portrait Gallery. Museum curators advise the president and first lady. They suggest names to suit the self-image of the couple. Barack…