First impressions are important, and for many people, their introduction to artist Amy Sherald and her work came in February. That’s when she stood alongside First Lady Michelle Obama and helped unveil her official portrait at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.
Now the High Museum is honoring Sherald — who is a native of Columbus, Georgia — with this year’s David C. Driskell Prize, the first national award to honor and celebrate contributions to the field of art of the African Diaspora.
Sherald’s portrait of Obama features her seated in a stunning patterned dress, looking at once thoughtful and relaxed.
“As a portrait painter, you have the capacity to capture something that is not captured in photography, she tells City Lights host Lois Reitzes. “And in that moment, that’s what I saw. It was a piece of her or a type of energy that I hadn’t picked up in any of the photographs.”
The work also drew criticism due to Sherald’s use of grayscale for skin color.
