The National Portrait Gallery opened its “Portrait of a Nation: 2022 Honorees” exhibition on Thursday, displaying the seven recipients of the Smithsonian’s 2022 Portrait of a Nation Awards.
Included are portraits of Serena and Venus Williams, Ava DuVernay, José Andrés, Clive Davis, Anthony Fauci and Marian Wright Edelman. The exhibition debuts six recently-commissioned works, and a never-before-shown photograph by an artist, according to a news release.
The “Portrait of a Nation: 2022 Honorees” will be on view on the gallery’s first floor through Oct. 22, 2023. Admission is free.
The exhibition includes a oil-on-linen painting by Kadir Nelson called “José Andrés and the Olla de Barro that Feeds the World,” which describes the Spanish chef and humanitarian. The award-winning music producer Davis is depicted with a unique commission by British artist David Hockney.
Artist Kenturah Davis, who is based in California, did her work on paper on DuVernay, featuring a sophisticated illustration of the famous filmmaker. The portrait of Fauci was created by artist Hugo Crosthwaite.
The commissioned portraits of the Williams sisters was created by artists Toyin Ojih Odutola and Robert Pruitt. Odutola’s drawing is a close-up of Serena Williams’ optimism and strength, and Pruitt’s portrait of Venus Williams is entrenched with symbolism, the news release said.
“Since 2001, the museum has collected portraits of living sitters and continues to expand its work with contemporary artists,” Rhea L. Combs, director of curatorial affairs, said in a statement. “We are incredibly fortunate that these artists have agreed to work with the museum to contribute to the visual history of our nation while celebrating this year’s Portrait of a Nation honorees.”
The exhibition has the black-and-white photograph of Edelman, which was created by artist Ruven Afanador. It depicts the civil rights and children’s rights activist having a necklace with portraits of Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth.
According to the news release, the 2022 honorees will be presented with their awards at the Portrait of a Nation Gala on Saturday.