A Host of Contemporary Luminaries Join the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection
The National Portrait Gallery announces new commissions and first look at the portraits of 2019’s Portrait of a Nation honorees.
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The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery has recently acquired portraits of the six 2019 American Portrait Gala honorees, including three commissions. On view for the first time will be portraits of honorees Frances Arnold by Katy Grannan, Jeffrey P. Bezos by Robert McCurdy, and Indra Nooyi by Jon R. Friedman, all of which were commissioned by the museum. Photographs of honorees Earth, Wind & Fire by Bruce W. Talamon, Lin-Manuel Miranda by Mark Seliger, and Anna Wintour by Annie Leibovitz also will be presented. The likenesses will be displayed on the museum’s first floor as a preview to the American Portrait Gala—a biennial, ticketed fundraising event that will take place on Sunday, Nov. 17. The museum’s “Recent Acquisitions” exhibition will be on view to the public Nov. 15 through Aug. 30, 2020.
The American Portrait Gala was established in 2015 to strengthen the museum’s endowment for exhibitions and to focus attention on the museum’s work with living sitters and contemporary artists. This year’s Gala also celebrates the Portrait Gallery’s dedication to commissioning artworks for its collection. The three new portraits that will premiere this fall bring the total to 18 portraits commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery since 2006. For more information on this year’s Gala, visit npg.si.edu/gala.
