Upcoming Exhibitions

The Outwin 2022: American Portraiture Today

The National Portrait Gallery’s triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition celebrates excellence in the art of portraiture.

Tour schedule:

Orlando Museum of Art
April 8, 2023 - October 8, 2023
Orlando, FL

Ackland Art Museum
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
November 3, 2023 - January 21, 2024
Chapel Hill, NC

Michele and Donald D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts
February 17, 2024 - May 5, 2024
Springfield, Massachusetts

Grand Rapids Art Museum
June 1, 2024 - September 8, 2024
Grand Rapids, MI
From Shadow to Substance: Grand-Scale Portraits During Photography’s Formative Years

June 20, 2025 - June 7, 2026

Drawing on the National Portrait Gallery’s extensive early photography collection, this exhibition traces the evolution of the grand-scale, whole-plate format from the high-end daguerreotype to the mid-range ambrotype to the more affordable tintype.
Amy Sherald: American Sublime

September 19, 2025 - February 22, 2026

Opens September 19, 2025
The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery will present Amy Sherald: American Sublime, the largest, most comprehensive exhibition of the artist’s work to date. Organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), “American Sublime” is the artist’s first major museum survey, bringing together paintings made from 2007 to the present.
The Outwin 2025: American Portraiture Today

October 18, 2025 - August 30, 2026

“The Outwin 2025: American Portraiture Today” will present the latest in contemporary portraiture selected from the museum’s triennial Outwin Boochever Portraiture Competition in an exhibition dedicated to the genre’s ability to engage history and illuminate contemporary experience.

The Outwin 2022: American Portraiture Today

From Shadow to Substance: Grand-Scale Portraits During Photography’s Formative Years

Amy Sherald: American Sublime

The Outwin 2025: American Portraiture Today