

Shantay Robinson
Portraiture is at its height among practicing Black artists. For centuries, portraits of Black people have been excluded from the galleries of the most esteemed art institutions. A few years into the turn of the century, we see a plethora of Black artists creating portraits and those artworks are being exhibited in the galleries that had once omitted them. These artists are working to include the Black body and presence into the western art historical cannon as representation of existence. If we were to look at the canon historically, it would seem that the presence of Black people meant that they were solely servants to white people or didn’t exist entirely. They were often depicted as subjugated as servants in for example Manet’s Olympia. In recent years, scores of Black artists have been creating beautiful portraits of Black people utilizing distinct techniques and styles that are more conceptual than solely aesthetic.
Kehinde Wiley (b. 1977)

Known for his opulent portraits, Kehinde Wiley was commissioned to paint the National Portrait Gallery office portrait of American president Barack Obama. Wiley began painting portraits by approaching Black men on the streets of Harlem where he had been working and asking them if they would like to pose for him. He then posed them in postures of royalty reminiscent of the work of Old Master paintings. The sitters would be dressed in street clothes foreground to ornate backgrounds inspired by traditional patterns of various cultures. Wiley has gone on to paint women and people from several locales, including Mumbai, Senegal, Dakar, and Rio de Janeiro as a series called The World’s Stage. Wiley allows his sitters who are everyday people to see themselves depicted like royalty while at the same time allowing his viewers to see the Black body represented in positions of power.
Amy Sherald (b. 1973)

Amy Sherald was the first woman to win the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition from the National Portrait Gallery in 2016 for her portrait Miss Everything (Unsuppressed Deliverance). Sherald’s portraits are outstanding for painting the skin of her subjects in grisaille; the gray color she uses is meant to comment on conventional notions of beauty. Her paintings also often depict her sitters in lighthearted and playful positions. She counters mass media’s often negative depiction of Black people. Her portraits show the humanity of Black people at play and in love. Her bold and colorful paintings are honest portrayals of her sitters’ personalities. Sherald painted the National Gallery of Art official portrait of Michelle Obama, which was unveiled in 2018 and is currently on view at the museum.
Bisa Butler (b. 1973)

Bisa Butler is a textile artist who takes what is typically known as a low art to new heights. The quilt portraits create a bridge between craft and fine art. She is known for using historical photographs to create portraits of Black people, many who are often nameless. She uses colorful fabrics, often incorporating African textiles to pay homage to the African heritage of the subjects in her portraits. Butler’s work explores historical narratives and brings them to the forefront of contemporary discourse. An exemplar of her inclusive art is of this is Don’t Tread On Me, God Damn, Let’s Go! -- Harlem Hellfighters, a forgotten segregated 369th infantry who fought in World War I is on exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum Renwick Gallery. In 2020, Butler had her first solo museum exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago, “Bisa Butler: Portraits.”
Titus Kaphar (b. 1976)

Titus Kaphar’s work speaks directly to the absence of the Black body in the western historical art cannon. He responds to how history is told and whose history is being told. In 2018, he was the recipient of the McArthur “Genius” Fellowship. His unconventional portraiture might consist of the shape of the subject cutout from the canvas alluding to the invisibility of the subject. Several of his artworks picture Black children who should be riding in baby carriages or riding on a parent’s back missing from the artwork, alluding to their invisibility in a real life. Kaphar is likely most known for Behind the Myth of Benevolence, his portrait of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, a painting that consists of portraits of both historical figures with the artist draping one portrait over the other, commenting on the hidden story behind their sordid relationship.
Jordan Casteel (b. 1989)

Jordan Casteel began her career making portraits of people on the streets of Harlem, but she captured them in their natural setting, offering viewers a glimpse into her subjects' inner lives. Her portraits are vibrant and dynamic as they create contrast in the details of the subjects’ clothing and skin. Her color palette is vast, and her painterly brushstrokes are visible. Casteel began her art career at the famed Studio Museum in Harlem artist residency. She has gone on to show in several group exhibitions. Her first solo museum exhibition “Jordan Casteel: Returning the Gaze” was at the Denver Art Museum in her hometown in 2019 to 2020. A particularly emblematic work of the artist is Fallou, a painting of a street vendor featured with her products for sale. Though she is still relatively new to the art world, she already has artwork in major museum art collections, including Museum of Modern Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Whitney Museum, and others.