Artist Amy Sherald decided not to show her work in Washington, D.C. because the Smithsonian museum did not want to display one of her paintings. The painting, called "Trans Forming Liberty," showed a transgender person as the Statue of Liberty. Instead of removing the painting, Sherald canceled the show in D.C. Now, her full exhibition, "American Sublime," is at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. This is the last stop on her tour, which has already been to San Francisco, New York, and Baltimore.
Atlanta is important to Sherald because she was born in Georgia and studied at Clark Atlanta University and Spelman College. She originally wanted to study medicine but decided to become an artist. She said that bringing her exhibition to Atlanta feels like continuing a conversation in the place that taught her how to be an artist.
Sherald is known for painting people's skin in shades of gray. She does this to make people think more about the person's character instead of their race. The paintings are hung lower than usual so visitors can look directly into the eyes of the people in the portraits. The exhibition includes her famous painting of Michelle Obama and a portrait of Breonna Taylor. It also features artworks that rethink historical events. The exhibition runs until September 27 and includes Sherald's first three-panel artwork.