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“Being black and learning about portraiture and understanding that we were not able to become authors of our own image until the invention of the camera. Before then, the way that we were portrayed was slapstick, silly, things like that. They [her subjects] are expressive, I think, they’re happy, but they’re not smiling – they’re serious about who they are in that space. I think the people I’m painting know that they are present in the work. They’re ready to interact with the viewer in a way that they’re going to create a conversation.” — Amy Sherald
While we are on the subject of portraiture – specifically black portraiture, and the Obama’s portraitists – today we are sharing this gem of an interview with the brilliant Amy Sherald, who catapulted to fame at the unveiling of her portrait of Michelle Obama two years ago in February 2018. In an unprecedented undertaking, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery recently announced that the Obama portraits will feature in a five-city tour, launching in 2021 in the Obama’s hometown, at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Recently, Sherald sat down in Chicago with the ABC7 afternoon talk show Windy City Live. She covers a lot of interesting territory in this interview, touching on the commission process, the history of black portraiture, and the variety of symbolism present in this and her other portraits.
