Artist pulls show from National Portrait Gallery over censorship concerns
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Painter Amy Sherald. Photo: Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Image
The artist behind Michelle Obama's popular 2018 portrait is pulling her show from the National Portrait Gallery over what she alleged were censorship threats, per multiple outlets.
Why it matters: Artist Amy Sherald alleged the Smithsonian-owned art museum, which confirmed the show's removal, considered excluding one work in Sherald's show that depicts the Statue of Liberty as a transgender woman.
The big picture: The complete show, "American Sublime," was slated to debut in September and would have been the museum's first show by a Black contemporary artist. The piece in question was "Trans Forming Liberty."
- "While we understand Amy's decision to withdraw her show from the National Portrait Gallery, we are disappointed that Smithsonian audiences will not have an opportunity to experience American Sublime," the Smithsonian said on Thursday in a statement to Axios.
Zoom in: Sherald, who didn't immediately respond to Axios' request for comment, told The New York Times the museum feared backlash from President Trump. She said she had been "informed that internal concerns had been raised" at the Portrait Gallery regarding the painting.
- "These concerns led to discussions about removing the work from the exhibition," she said.
- "I entered into this collaboration in good faith, believing that the institution shared a commitment to presenting work that reflects the full, complex truth of American life," Sherald wrote in a letter to Smithsonian secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III on Wednesday, per the Times.
A Smithsonian spokesperson told Axios the museum never wanted to remove Sherald's painting, but include an additional video to "contextualize the piece."
- "The Smithsonian strives to foster a greater and shared understanding," the spokesperson said.
- "By presenting and contextualizing art, the Smithsonian aims to inspire, challenge and impact audiences in meaningful and thoughtful ways. Unfortunately, we could not come to an agreement with the artist."
Sherald said, per the Times: "The video would have opened up for debate the value of trans visibility and I was opposed to that being a part of the 'American Sublime' narrative."
Context: The Trump administration has threatened to pull funding from a wide range of institutions — from hospitals to Harvard — if they acknowledge, let alone protect, LGBTQ+ people or people of color.
Flashback: Trump targeted the gallery with a March executive order ordering the Smithsonian's museums to decline to fund exhibits that "degrade shared American values."
- Trump announced in May that he was firing the Portrait Gallery's director, Kim Sajet, whom the White House called "a strong supporter of DEI"
- Sajet resigned several weeks later.
