U.S. Portrait Gallery buys L.A. street artist's image of Obama

A solarized red, white and blue portrait of U.S. president-elect Barack Obama made popular during the election has been purchased for the permanent collection of the U.S. National Portrait Gallery.

The portrait, created by L.A. street artist Shepard Fairey, will have its unveiling at the Washington D.C. gallery by Jan. 20, Inauguration Day.

"What I think is so fascinating is the ubiquitous nature," said Carolyn Carr, deputy director of the Portrait Gallery.

"When people think of a portrait of Obama, they think of this image."

It's an unusual move for the Portrait Gallery, which normally buys paintings as a president is leaving office. An official portrait of Obama will be added later.

Fairey's mixed-media collage depicts Obama along with the word "hope." The image was later modified with other slogans such as "change" and "vote."

It has been replicated on thousands of stickers, buttons, posters and T-shirts across the country.

Time Magazine recently commissioned Fairey to manufacture a similar image for its Person of the Year cover.

Meanwhile, Obama's Presidential Inaugural Committee revealed yet another version of the print by Fairey this week to be sold for $100 U.S. through the committee's website.

Fairey's works are also in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.