Artist Amy Sherald cancels her Smithsonian show over censorship concerns
Artist Amy Sherald canceled her upcoming show at the Smithsonian after she said the institution wanted to remove a painting of a transgender woman as the Statue of Liberty due to political fears.
Sherald, who rose to fame in 2018 after painting firmer first lady Michelle Obama’s official portrait, said in a statement that she decided to withdraw her exhibition, “American Sublime,” after the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery told her it had concerns about including a portrait of a trans woman titled “Trans Forming Liberty.”
“These concerns led to discussions about removing the work from the exhibition,” Sherald said in a statement first reported by The New York Times. “While no single person is to blame, it’s clear that institutional fear shaped by a broader climate of political hostility toward trans lives played a role. This painting exists to hold space for someone whose humanity has been politicized and disregarded. I cannot in good conscience comply with a culture of censorship, especially when it targets vulnerable communities.”
She added, “At a time when transgender people are being legislated against, silenced, and endangered across our nation, silence is not an option. I stand by my work. I stand by my sitters. I stand by the truth that all people deserve to be seen—not only in life, but in art.”
A spokesperson for the Smithsonian Institution, which oversees the gallery, disputed Sherald’s claims and said a top Smithsonian official wanted to better contextualize the painting. More time was needed to address the issue, the spokesperson said, but Sherald withdrew the exhibit before that could be done.
“The Smithsonian has a long-standing and valued relationship with artist Amy Sherald,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We are and continue to be deeply appreciative of her and the integrity of her work. 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.”
Sherald withdrew her show in a letter to Lonnie G. Bunch III, the secretary of the Smithsonian, The New York Times reported. In the letter, which has not been reviewed by NBC News, Sherald said she understood that a video would have replaced the painting, but she still decided to cancel.
“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,” she wrote in the letter, the Times reported.
“American Sublime” was organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and included paintings of Sherald’s from 2007 to the present.
According to the gallery, Sherald would have been the first contemporary Black artist to have a solo exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.
