Black Contemporary American Artists : Amy Sherald

Amy Sherald was born in 1973 in Columbus, Georgia. She earned her BA degree from Clark- Atlanta University, attended the Spellman College Artist-In-Residence program in Panama, and would later earn her MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Sherald is perhaps most heralded for her portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama. Her primary medium, oil painting, is rendered in large scale with bold colors. She exclusively paints portraits of Black sitters – children and adults, male and female. Her backgrounds tend to be monochromatic and are juxtaposed with the vibrantly patterned garments of the sitter. Sherald currently resides in New York City and has exhibited in both galleries and museums and has served as an artist in residence in several programs. She is the recipient of several awards, most recently being the 2019 Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award.

Amy Sherald. (n.d.) National Museum of Women in the Arts. Retrieved January 27, 2023 from https://nmwa.org/art/artists/amy-sherald/
Amy Sherald. (2022). Hauser & Wirth. Retrieved December 29, 2022 from https://www.hauserwirth.com/artists/11577-amy-sherald/#bibliography
Bulluck, K. (10 June 2018). Amy Sherald (portrait). Found in A sense of human connection: the work of Amy Sherald, Bmore art. Retrieved January 26, 2023 from https://bmoreart.com/2018/06/a-sense-of-a-human-connection-the-work-of-amy-sherald.html
Amy Sherald, They Call Me Redbone but I’d Rather Be Strawberry Shortcake, 2008, oil on canvas, 54 x 43 in., National Museum of Women in the Arts, https://nmwa.org/art/artists/amy-sherald/
Amy Sherald, Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama, 2018, oil on linen, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, https://npg.si.edu/learn/classroom-resource/michelle-obama