The annual exhibition “Recent Acquisitions” at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery displays the latest portraits to enter into the museum’s renowned collection. Figures who have made lasting contributions in such areas as medicine, music, literature, art and social justice are represented in paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings, photographs and new media. The latest version of the installation will be on view from Nov. 17 through Nov. 4, 2018.
These most-recent acquisitions join more than 22,000 others in the Portrait Gallery’s collection to represent the numerous individuals who have made a significant impact on the history and culture of the United States. Subjects include the lawyer Francis Scott Key who penned the lyrics for the “Star-Spangled Banner”; former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright; actress Gertrude Jeannette; university president Norman Francis; photographer Harry Callahan; fashion designer Ralph Lauren; and multi-award-winning actress Rita Moreno. In total, the exhibition features 25 objects that tell the story of this nation through the art of portraiture.
The curators of this exhibition are Chief Curator Brandon Fortune; Senior Curator of Photographs Ann Shumard; Curator of Painting and Sculpture and Latino Art and History Taína Caragol; Curator of Painting and Sculpture Dorothy Moss; Associate Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Media Arts Asma Naeem; Assistant Curator of Prints, Drawings and Media Arts Robyn Asleson; and Assistant Curator of Photographs Leslie Ureña.
The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery tells the multifaceted story of America through the individuals who have shaped its culture. Through the visual arts, performing arts and new media, the Portrait Gallery portrays poets and presidents, visionaries and villains, actors and activists whose lives tell the American story.
The National Portrait Gallery is part of the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture at Eighth and F streets N.W., Washington, D.C. Smithsonian Information: (202) 633-1000. Connect with the museum at its website (npg.si.edu), Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and the museum’s blog.
“Own Big Company” unidentified artist, chromolithograph on paper, 1899.
“Rita Moreno” by ADÁL, gelatin silver print, 1984. Acquisition made possible through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
“Flaco Jiménez” by Al Rendon, toned gelatin silver print, 1987. Acquisition made possible through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
“Betsey Colt Foot” by Ezra Ames, oil on canvas, 1815. Gift from Betsey Colt Foot’s great, great, great, great granddaughter Seelye Burr Longnecker.
“Memorial to a Marriage” by Patricia Cronin, bronze, modeled 2002, cast 2013.
“The Gallant Charge of the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts (Colored) Regiment” by Currier & Ives, lithography Company, 1863.
“Gertrude Hadley Jeannette” by Alex Asher Daniel, acrylic, colored pencil, oil stick, spray paint on paper, 2011. Gift in honor of Michael and Sade Lythcott and Dr. Barbara Ann Teer’s National Black Theatre.
“El corazón de Luis” by Gaspar Enriquez, ceramic, 2016.
“Luis Jiménez” by Gaspar Enriquez, ceramic, 2003. Donated from the collection of Jerry & Michelle Wright, December 1, 2016.
“The World Renown [sic] Long Tack Sam” by Adolph Friedlander, chromolithograph on paper, 1919. Acquisition made possible through Federal support from the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.
“Study #4” by Jon R. Friedman, oil and graphite on prepared paper, 2015. Gift of the artist.
“Sarah Chang” by Jesse Frohman, inkjet print, c. 1994 (printed 2016). Gift of the artist.
“Spike Lee” by Jesse Frohman, inkjet print, c. 1990 (printed 2014). Gift of the artist.
“Madeleine Albright” by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, inkjet print, 2005 (printed 2016). Acquired through the generosity of Eugene Eidenberg.
“Bushrod Washington” by Chester Harding, oil on canvas, 1828.
“David Ho” by Gregory Heisler, silver dye bleach print, 1996. Gift of Time magazine.
“Black Dress” by Alex Katz, color silkscreen, 2015. Gift of the Abraham and Virginia Weiss Charitable Trust, Amy and Marc Meadows, in honor of Wendy Wick Reaves.
“Dr. Norman Francis” by Simmie Knox, oil on canvas, 2016.
“Ben John Chen” by Z. S. Liang, oil on canvas, 1998. Gift of Mr. Ben John Chen’s wife, PikNa Leung Chen.
“Bill T. Jones” by Robert Mapplethorpe, gelatin silver print, 1985.
“Mirage” by Ana Mendieta, digital media, 1974. Acquisition made possible through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
“Francis Scott” Key by Rembrandt Peale, oil on canvas, c. 1796.
“Rita Moreno (with George Chakiris)” by George Rodríguez, gelatin silver print, 1961 (printed 2014). Acquisition made possible through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
“Ralph Lauren” by Mark Seliger, chromogenic print, 2002 (printed 2017). Gift of the Ralph Lauren Corporation.
“Ben Carson” by Jerry Spagnoli, daguerreotypes, 2014.
“Harry Callahan” by Todd Webb, gelatin silver print, 1942.
“Jean Charlot (with Zohmah Charlot)” by Edward Weston, gelatin silver print, 1933.
“Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown” by Robert Langton, wood engraving on paper, 1851.
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SI-574-2017
Concetta Duncan
202-633-9989
