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Artist Amy Sherald has canceled her upcoming exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery after Vice President JD Vance objected to what he described as “woke and divisive content,” Fox News Digital has learned. The exhibit, titled “American Sublime,” included a painting of a transgender Statue of Liberty.
President Trump issued an executive order in March assigning Vance the task of eliminating exhibits or programs in Smithsonian museums that “degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy.”
During a June 9 meeting with the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents, Vance reportedly stated that Sherald’s exhibit violated the executive order. A source familiar with the meeting confirmed his comments to Fox News Digital.
“Vice President Vance has been leading the effort to eliminate woke indoctrination from our beloved Smithsonian museums,” an administration official said in an email. “On top of shepherding the One Big Beautiful Bill through the Senate and helping President Trump navigate international crises, the vice president has demonstrated his ability to get President Trump’s priorities across the finish line.”
Sherald, best known for her official 2018 portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama, announced Thursday that she was pulling her exhibit after learning the Portrait Gallery had concerns about displaying the portrait, titled Trans Forming Liberty, which features a trans woman with pink hair in a blue gown.
“These concerns led to discussions about removing the work from the exhibition,” Sherald said in a statement. “While no single person is to blame, it’s clear that institutional fear shaped by a broader climate of political hostility toward trans lives played a role.
“This painting exists to hold space for someone whose humanity has been politicized and disregarded. I cannot in good conscience comply with a culture of censorship, especially when it targets vulnerable communities.
“At a time when transgender people are being legislated against, silenced and endangered across our nation, silence is not an option,” Sherald continued. “I stand by my work. I stand by my sitters. I stand by the truth that all people deserve to be seen — not only in life, but in art.”
The Smithsonian declined to comment on Vance’s involvement.
The White House called Sherald’s exhibit removal a “principled and necessary step” toward fostering unity at national institutions.
“The Trans Forming Liberty painting, which sought to reinterpret one of our nation’s most sacred symbols through a divisive and ideological lens, fundamentally strayed from the mission and spirit of our national museums,” said Trump special assistant Lindsey Halligan. “The Statue of Liberty is not an abstract canvas for political expression. It is a revered and solemn symbol of freedom, inspiration and national unity that defines the American spirit.”
The Smithsonian’s Board of Regents includes Chief Justice John Roberts, along with Sens. John Boozman (R-Ark.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and Gary Peters (D-Mich.), as well as several members of the House.
