Recognize

Artist, activist, or actress? Who will be recognized at the National Portrait Gallery for his or her contributions to American culture? Well, that’s up to you!

This November, the National Portrait Gallery will unveil a special crowdsourced wall in our galleries, called “Recognize,” as a place to highlight an important person in our collection. Every few months we will announce a new lineup of candidates for consideration and invite the public to vote on which one will be featured on the “Recognize” wall. Beginning today, you can vote for a portrait that will be installed in this featured location.

Our curators and historians have narrowed the first round down to three candidates—the rest is up to you! James Meredith became the first African American student at the University of Mississippi. His admission to “Ole Miss” in 1962 was a flashpoint in the civil rights movement.

Georgia O’Keeffe became one of the most dynamic and compelling artists of the twentieth century, known for both her large-scale paintings of detailed, magnified flowers and her kinetic cityscapes.

Bette Midler has earned many accolades for her various musical, theatrical, film, and television performances, including three Grammy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, three Emmy Awards, a special Tony Award, and two Academy Award nominations. Our friends at Smithsonian magazine are hosting the voting; cast your ballot by visiting their site here.

You can vote once a day until 5:00 p.m. on October 23. We will announce the selected portrait the following week, and it will go on display in early November.