(CNN) \u2014 The artist Amy Sherald has canceled a major exhibition of her work at the Smithsonian\u2019s National Portrait Gallery,\u2026<\/p>\n
(CNN<\/a>) \u2014 <\/b>The artist Amy Sherald has canceled a major exhibition of her work at the Smithsonian\u2019s National Portrait Gallery, citing censorship over one of her paintings depicting the Statue of Liberty modeled after a transgender artist.<\/p>\n Sherald, who reached national fame for her\u00a0official portrait of Michelle Obama<\/a>\u00a0in 2018, has since become one of the most prominent living American painters for her vibrant portraits of Black life, portrayed in grisaille, or gray tones, against expanses of blue.<\/p>\n Her mid-career survey \u201cAmerican Sublime,\u201d which was set to go on view at the National Portrait Gallery in September, has traveled around the country, debuting at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art before stopping at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, where it is currently on view. At the Whitney, the artist Arew\u00e0 Basit, after whom the painting \u201cTrans Forming Liberty\u201d is modeled, appeared at the opening party to take pictures with Sherald in front of the monumental artwork.<\/p>\n In a statement, Sherald said she was informed by the National Portrait Gallery that the museum that \u201cconcerns had been raised internally\u201d about the painting.<\/p>\n \u201cThese concerns led to discussions about removing the work from the exhibition,\u201d she continued. \u201cWhile no single person is to blame, it is clear that institutional fear shaped by a broader climate of political hostility toward trans lives played a role.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesperson from the Smithsonian said the museum had proposed including a video\u00a0<\/strong>that would contextualize the painting, before Sherald ultimately decided to withdraw the show entirely. CNN reached out to a representative for Sherald\u2019s gallery, Hauser & Wirth, for her comment on the proposed video. According to a New York Times\u00a0report<\/a>, which the gallery representative said was accurate, the artist said the video would replace the painting and included anti-trans views.<\/p>\n \u201cThe video would have opened up for debate the value of trans visibility and I was opposed to that being a part of the \u2018American Sublime\u2019 narrative,\u201d she told the newspaper.<\/p>\n Sherald\u2019s cancellation is the latest crisis at the Smithsonian Institution as the museums respond to pressure and interference from President Trump in his second term. The organization, established by an act of Congress in 1846, has grappled with new ideological directives from the Trump administration, which has\u00a0systematically rolled back trans rights<\/a>\u00a0over the past few months as it also takes action to suppress or reverse race and gender inclusivity in schools, museums and the military.<\/p>\n