Amy Sherald Speaks Out on Cancelling Her Smithsonian Show

Amy Sherald Speaks Out on Cancelling Her Smithsonian Show

Amy Sherald, the painter most widely known for her portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama, detailed her decision to withdraw her exhibition from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery (NPG) amid concerns over censorship at the institution in a new opinion piece. On MSNBC’s opinion blog last Sunday, August 24, Sherald condemned the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to reshape the Smithsonian Institution, cautioning that it could “…

Artist Amy Sherald: Censorship Has Taken Hold at the Smithso...

Artist Amy Sherald: Censorship Has Taken Hold at the Smithsonian. I Refused to Play Along. “History shows us what happens when governments demand that museums perform loyalty. Nazi Germany weaponized them. So did the Soviet Union.” 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →

Over 150 US cultural institutions speak out against state censorship

Amy Sherald, Trans Forming Liberty, 2024. oil on linen, 312 x 194 x 6 cm. Photo: Kevin Bulluck. © Amy Sherald. Courtesy the artist and Hauser and Wirth On 25 August, the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) and the Vera List Center for Art and Politics (VLC) released a statement expressing concern that intellectual freedom in cultural institutions in the United States is under serious threat. It has received more than 425 signatures so f…