Amy Sherald, the artist who painted the viral 2018 portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama, has withdrawn her upcoming show at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, citing political censorship. According to The New York Times, the Washington D.C. gallery told Sherald they were considering removing a painting of hers titled “Trans Forming Liberty,” which depicts the Statue of Liberty as a transgender woman, to avoid the wrath of President Donald Trump, who targeted the institution with a March executive order that ordered the museums decline to fund exhibits that “degrade shared American values.” In a statement Sherald sent to the secretary of the Smithsonian on Wednesday, she wrote that “it has become clear that the conditions no longer support the integrity of the work as conceived.” Sherald told The New York Times that she “cannot in good conscience comply with a culture of censorship, especially when it targets vulnerable communities.” In a statement to The New York Times, the Smithsonian wrote that while they “understand” Sherald’s decision, they are “disappointed that Smithsonian audiences will not have an opportunity to experience ‘American Sublime.’” Sherald’s show, “American Sublime,” would have been the Smithsonian gallery’s first exhibit by a Black contemporary artist.
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