When Amy Sherald first learned that she was going to be painting the official portrait of First Lady, Michelle Obama, she told her mom first and then her dog.

We can totally get behind this priority list. Sherald was an established artist even before she was commissioned to paint the portrait. But, the painting has helped her gain new international fame and demand. With fame also came an onslaught of criticism from internet trolls turned art critics. Turns out this was just a troll toll the artist had to pay on her way to a very successful future. While the internet critics have dwindled away, Sherald has made a lasting impression on art collectors and galleries worldwide.

Michelle Obama says she instantly clicked with Amy when they met. At their first meeting, Sherald boldly expressed that she really wanted to paint the first lady rather than her husband. From the beginning, she intended to capture Mrs. Obama’s spirit, a private view of the very public figure. Many “critics” of the painting had issues with the gray tone of her skin and the size of the dress. The gray skin tone, however, wasn’t newly adopted for this painting, but rather a signature style in her works. The Obamas would have known of the artist’s intentional use of gray to “challenge the idea of color as race.”

Michelle Obama notes her reaction was just “wow” when she saw her portrait. She is the first in her family to be painted and she knew the type of impact Sherald’s painting was going to have on young girls of color visiting the Smithsonian. Soon after the painting was hung at the National Portrait Gallery, a video of a young visitor, Parker Curry, awestruck by the portrait went viral. Curry was so impressed by the painting that she thought Obama was a queen. Little Curry even met the First Lady after the video.

Demand has soared for the Sherald’s work since this portrait was revealed at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. The list of people who want to commission a portrait is so large at the moment that the number surpasses Sherald’s expected lifetime output. The monetary value of her portraits have also been steadily increasing. Even before the announcement of the presidential commission, Sherald’s portraits were selling at $35,000. After the announcement was made, the paintings have reached $50,000 and a current value is yet to be determined. The decision for accepting a commission is ultimately left to Amy Sherald who wants to eventually place her works in an institution accessible to the public.