Renowned artist Amy Sherald has canceled her upcoming solo exhibition at the Smithsonian Institutions National Portrait Gallery over concerns that a painting of a Black transgender woman would be removed from the show.As the New York Times first reported, Sherald, best known for her 2018 portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama, said shed made the decision after being told that the museum was considering removing Trans Forming Liberty ahead of her shows debut in Washington, D.C., in September. The painting depicts a Black trans woman in a blue gown holding a torch sprouting flowers in a pose reminiscent of the Statue of Liberty. Related Smithsonian cancels drag events as LGBTQ+ employees decry censorship Republicans called out the Smithsonian for its LGBTQ+ programming and now events are getting mysteriously canceled. In a statement, Sherald said that she was informed by the National Portrait Gallery that concerns had been raised internally about the museums inclusion of a portrait of a trans woman titled Trans Forming Liberty. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today These concerns led to discussions about removing the work from the exhibition, her statement continued. While no single person is to blame, its clear that institutional fear shaped by a broader climate of political hostility toward trans lives played a role.According to the Times, Sherald said that on July 21, Lonnie G. Bunch III, the secretary of the Smithsonian, had proposed replacing Trans Forming Liberty with a video of people reacting to the painting and discussing trans rights. The video, she said, 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.However, as both the Times and the Washington Post report, in a statement, a Smithsonian spokesperson claimed that Bunch had actually proposed that the video accompany the painting to contextualize the piece. In a letter to Bunch, Sherald wrote that she had entered into the collaboration with the Smithsonian in good faith, believing that the institution shared a commitment to presenting work that reflects the full, complex truth of American life.Unfortunately, it has become clear that the conditions no longer support the integrity of the work as conceived, she wrote. Portraiture has always been my way of asserting presence of creating visibility where there has too often been erasure. When that visibility is compromised, even subtly, it alters not only the artwork, but the message it carries. I cannot consent to that.Trans Forming Liberty has been part of Sheralds exhibition, American Sublime, since it debuted at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art last year and is currently on view at the Whitney Museum in New York through August 10. In her statement, Sherald, who would have been the first contemporary Black artist to have a solo exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, explained that the portrait exists to hold space for someone whose humanity has been politicized and disregarded. I cannot in good conscience comply with a culture of censorship, especially when it targets vulnerable communities, she said. At a time when transgender people are being legislated against, silenced, and endangered across our nation, silence is not an option. I stand by my work. I stand by my sitters. I stand by the truth that all people deserve to be seen not only in life, but in art.While we understand Amys decision to withdraw her show from the National Portrait Gallery, we are disappointed that Smithsonian audiences will not have an opportunity to experience American Sublime, a statement from the Smithsonian read, according to the Times. The Smithsonian strives to foster a greater and shared understanding. By presenting and contextualizing art, the Smithsonian aims to inspire, challenge, and impact audiences in meaningful and thoughtful ways. Unfortunately, we could not come to an agreement with the artist. We remain appreciative and inspired by Ms. Sherald, her artwork and commitment to portraiture.In a statement responding to the cancelation, Lindsey Halligan, a special assistant to the president, said that Trans Forming Liberty, sought to reinterpret one of our nations most sacred symbols through a divisive and ideological lens, and that its inclusion in a National Portrait Gallery exhibition fundamentally strayed from the mission and spirit of our national museums. As both the Times and the Post note, Halligan is one of the people behind the March 27 executive order asserting that the Smithsonian has come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology and directing Halligan and Vice President JD Vance to remove improper ideology from the institutions member museums and prohibit expenditure on exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race.In May, the president announced that he was firing former National Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet, though the president does not have the authority to do so, accusing her of being partisan and a strong supporter of DEI, according to both the Times and the Post. Sajet later resigned.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.