American painter Amy Sherald has cancelled her upcoming exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington due to censorship concerns. The show would have been the third leg of her touring exhibition American Sublime, which first opened at SFMOMA in November 2024.
In a statement explaining her decision, the artist said that there were discussions in the museum about removing the work Trans Forming Liberty (2024), a portrait of a trans woman posing as the Statue of Liberty, from the exhibition. ‘While no single person is to blame,’ said Sherald, ‘it’s clear that institutional fear shaped by a broader climate of political hostility towards trans lives played a role’.
According to Sherald’s statement, Lonnie G. Bunch III, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution (which oversees the National Portrait Gallery), suggested replacing the painting with a video of people reacting to the painting and discussing transgender issues from multiple perspectives.
A Smithsonian spokesperson said in response that the video was meant to accompany and contextualise the work, not replace it. ‘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’, said Sherald.
The Smithsonian has been a target of the Trump administration since the 27 March Executive Order, ‘Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History’, which aims to counteract what the administration considers ‘corrosive’ and ‘improper ideology’. The policies listed in the Executive Order include proactively denying the existence of trans women. In late May, Trump attempted to fire the director of the National Portrait Gallery, Kim Sajet, via a post on Truth social, though it was unclear whether this was within the President’s authority. Sajet chose to resign in June.
Trans Forming Liberty is currently on view in American Sublime, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, through 10 August
