Amy Sherald and American Realism

Amy Sherald’s Trans Forming Liberty, a portrait of a Black trans woman as the Statue of Liberty, drew national attention after she withdrew her exhibition from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery when the museum proposed censoring or “contextualizing” the work; the painting later appeared on the cover of The New Yorker. After she canceled the show in Washington, the Baltimore Museum of Art offered to exhibit American Sublime. The show opens there November 2nd. This moment, and the conversation it sparked, set the tone for Sherald’s appearance on 60 Minutes in October 2025, where she spoke with Anderson Cooper about her career, her evolving body of work, and the quiet power of representation. 

In Sherald’s portraits, a subtle but powerful dynamic unfolds. Her subjects, Black Americans chosen from real life, stare calmly and directly at the viewer. Her paintings are still, but never silent. By meeting the viewer’s gaze, they assert presence and a narrative of their own.

Amy Sherald’s work is grounded in the tradition of American Realism, an art movement defined by its focus on ordinary people and everyday life. But while 19th-century realists like Edward Hopper or Winslow Homer often portrayed white middle-class subjects, Sherald reclaims that visual language to center the lives of Black Americans. Her portraits offer dignity and grace. Through her signature gray skin tones, she allow viewers to focus on form and individuality. 

The 60 Minutes feature touched on a moment of artistic conflict: Sherald’s decision to withdraw her American Sublime exhibition from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery after curatorial disagreements over the framing of Trans Forming Liberty. When the institution proposed contextualizing the piece in a way Sherald felt compromised its integrity, she pulled the show. 

Now on view at the Baltimore Museum of Art, American Sublime offers visitors the opportunity to engage directly with Sherald’s portraits in person. This setting invites moments of looking, and being looked at, in return.

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