A photo of a 2-year-old staring at Michelle Obama's portrait in awe is going viral

A photo is worth a thousand words...

A photo of two-year-old Parker Curry staring awestruck at the new Michelle Obama portrait is going viral.

The photo, taken by Ben Hines, shows Parker staring open-mouthed and gazing up at the portrait, which was unveiled last month.

Parker's mother Jessica told CNN that she wanted a picture of Parker standing in front of the portrait but "she genuinely, honestly would not turn around."

"She was uncooperative with me because she was just so focused on the portrait and studying it, and she was just so fascinated."

"In further discussion with (Parker) yesterday and today, I realized that she believes Michelle Obama is a queen, and she wants to be a queen as well."

"As a female and as a girl of colour, It's really important that I show her people who look like her that are doing amazing things and are making history so that she knows she can do it."

The portrait was painted by Amy Sherald who shared another image of the awe-struck two-year-old on Instagram with a caption describing her first visit to a museum.

"There was a show up of work by painter @thebobartlett whose work still inspires me to this day," Sherald wrote on the social media site.

"There was a painting of a black man standing in front of a house. I don't remember a lot about my childhood, but I do have a few emotional memories etched into my mind forever and seeing that painting of a man that looked like he could be my father stopped me dead in my tracks.

"This was my first time seeing real paintings that weren't in a book and also weren't painted in another century. I didn't realize that none of them had me in them until I saw that painting of Bo's."

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The photo struck a chord on social media.

"I'm also thinking of all the young people...who will see an image of someone who looks like them hanging on the wall in this great American institution. I know the impact that will have on their lives, b/c I was one of those girl." - Michelle Obama, 2/12/18

March 1: pic.twitter.com/rPcGBJUZPd

— Britni Danielle (@BritniDWrites) March 2, 2018

The 1st image summarizes one of the reasons why the presidency of Barack Obama and the powerful presence of Michelle Obama matter to humanity, particularly to Black children. Never forget the 2nd image. Maybe it will heighten our understanding. pic.twitter.com/BkCEz3erlQ

— Be A King (@BerniceKing) March 3, 2018