Amy Sherald: American Sublime

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery will present Amy Sherald: American Sublime, the largest, most comprehensive exhibition of the artist’s work to date. Organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), “American Sublime” is the artist’s first major museum survey, bringing together paintings made from 2007 to the present. New and rarely seen works will be joined by the artist’s now iconic portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama (2018), commissioned by the Portrait Gallery for its collection, and her powerful portrait of Breonna Taylor (2020). The exhibition will also mark the return of “Miss Everything (Unsuppressed Deliverance)” (2014) to Washington, where the painting garnered first prize in the Portrait Gallery’s 2016 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. The Washington presentation of “American Sublime” will be on view Sept. 19, 2025, through Feb. 22, 2026. Sherald is the first contemporary Black artist to receive a solo exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.

“Amy Sherald: American Sublime” is organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) and curated by Sarah Roberts, former Andrew W. Mellon Curator and Head of Painting and Sculpture at SFMOMA. The Washington, D.C., presentation of “American Sublime” is curated by Rhea L. Combs, director of curatorial affairs for the National Portrait Gallery.

The National Portrait Gallery is grateful to the Ford Foundation, whose support has made the Washington, D.C., presentation of this exhibition possible.