National Portrait Gallery Premieres 28 Newly Acquired Portraits in “Recent Acquisitions”

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery will premiere 28 additions to its permanent collection when the 2018–2019 “Recent Acquisitions” exhibition opens Nov. 16. This year’s presentation is the latest in an annual series and marks just one of the many steps the Portrait Gallery has taken to focus on inclusion in building its collection. While the display will feature several renowned individuals—from famed baseball player Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod) to former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy—it will also encourage viewers to learn more about those some may call “hidden figures.”

This year’s selection will highlight influencers in medicine, astronomy, music, literature, art, entertainment and sports with portraits made in a variety of media, including paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings and photographs. The exhibition will be on view through Nov. 3, 2019.

These new acquisitions join more than 23,000 works in the Portrait Gallery’s collection, which represents individuals who have made a significant impact on the history and culture of the United States. Subjects include author and political activist Helen Keller, who was the first deaf and blind person to earn a bachelor of arts degree; songwriter Louie Pérez; singer and performer Celia Cruz; astronomer Edwin Hubble, known for the Hubble sequence that classifies galaxies; historian Rodolfo Acuña; actress Phylicia Rashad; and American businessman Julius Fleischmann.

The exhibition will also feature a Brigitte Lacombe photograph of award-winning actress and media mogul Oprah Winfrey, and an Andy Warhol screenprint of former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Also on view will be two etchings of playwright Ayad Akhtar by Pakistan-born artist Shahzia Sikander. In total, the Portrait Gallery’s 2018–2019 presentation of “Recent Acquisitions” features 28 artworks, all of which contribute to the nation’s story.

            The exhibition is co-curated by 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; Curator of Prints, Drawings and Media Arts Robyn Asleson; and Associate Curator of Photographs Leslie Ureña.

Included Artworks

“I’m Big Papi” (David Ortiz) by Freddy Rodríguez, acrylic on canvas, 2008.

“A-Rod Six of Thirteen” (Alex Rodríguez) by Freddy Rodríguez, acrylic on canvas, 2007.

“Maurice Sendak” by Mariana Cook, gelatin silver print, 2005 (printed 2012).

“Louie Pérez, Musician (Los Lobos)” by Harry Gamboa Jr., gelatin silver print, 2012. Acquisition made possible through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.

“Phylicia Rashad” by Alex Asher Daniel, acrylic, colored pencil, oil stick, spray paint and collage on paper, 2011. Gift in honor of Michael and Sade Lythcott and Dr. Barbara Ann Teer’s National Black Theatre.

“Rodolfo Acuña, Ph.D., Historian (CSUN)” by Harry Gamboa Jr., gelatin silver print, 2000. Acquisition made possible through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.

“Oprah Winfrey” by Brigitte Lacombe, archival pigment print, 2009 (printed 2012).

“Julius Fleischmann” by Frederick William Wright, oil on canvas, c. 1920–25. Gift of Joan Fleischmann Tobin, his granddaughter.

“Edwin Hubble” by unidentified photographer, gelatin silver print, 1949. Acquired through the generosity of Laura Peebles and Ellen Fingerman.

“Dong Kingman” by William Arthur Smith, graphite on paper, c. 1950. Gift of Dr. Mark Mellinger and Ms. Barbara Iwler.

“Album of Gems, Introduced by Williams and Walker and Their Own Big Company” (George Walker and Bert Williams) by unidentified artist, chromolithograph, 1899.

“An American Jockey” (James Forman “Tod” Sloan) by Godfrey Douglas Giles, chromolithograph, 1899. Funded in memory of Terry Fortune by his family.

“David Ramsay” by Charles Willson Peale, oil on canvas, 1771. Gift of Pattison and Carolyn Fulton.

“Kamehameha I” by Louis Choris, engraving in Voyage of Discovery in the South Sea, and to Behring’s Straits, in Search of a North-East Passage, printed for Sir Richard Phillips and Co., London, c. 1821.

“Emma Catherine Embury” by Jacob Hart Lazarus (1822–1892), after Henry Inman, oil on canvas, c. 1870–80, after c. 1832–34 original.

“Helen Keller” by Jo Davidson, ink on paper, 1948.

“Helen Keller (with Polly Thompson)” by Jo Davidson, graphite on paper, 1948.

“Annie Jump Cannon” by Eleanor Connell, graphite on paper, c. 1930.

“Wuthering Heights” (Merle Oberon) by unidentified artist, chromolithograph poster, c. 1939.

“Theodore Roethke” by Imogen Cunningham, gelatin silver print, 1959.

“Pauline Koner” by Lotte Jacobi, gelatin silver print, c. 1950. Acquired through the generosity of Elizabeth Ann Hylton.

“Ellen Stewart” by Jonathan Atkin, gelatin silver print, 1986. Acquired through the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Ferrara.

“¡Yo Soy de Cuba la voz, Guantanamera!” (Celia Cruz) by Alexis Rodríguez-Duarte in collaboration with Tico Torres, inkjet print, 1994 (printed 2016). Acquisition made possible through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.

“George Walker” by Frank Schramm, inkjet print, 2010 (printed 2017); and inkjet print, 2015 (printed 2017). Gifts of Frank Schramm.

“Portraits of the Artist” (Ayad Akhtar) by Shahzia Sikander, two etchings, 2016. Acquisition made possible through federal support from the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.

“Jacqueline Kennedy III from 11 Pop Artists, Volume III” by Andy Warhol, screenprint, 1966.        Gift of the Abraham and Virginia Weiss Charitable Trust, Amy and Marc Meadows, in honor of Wendy Wick Reaves.