Amy Sherald is a woke artist who became famous for depicting the Statue of Liberty as black and transgender.
She also created a rendition of the famous World War Two Times Square kiss featuring two gay black men. And Sherald earned national acclaim for painting the official portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama.
What an unusual combination – transgender statues, gay black men and Michelle Obama. Hmm.
Now comes word that Sherald is canceling her upcoming show at the Smithsonian over a controversy surrounding the transgender version of Lady Liberty.
“I cannot in good conscience comply with a culture of censorship, especially when it targets vulnerable communities,” she wrote in a statement. “At a time when transgender people are being legislated against, silenced, and endangered across our nation,” she added, “silence is not an option.”
SWITCH TO A CONSERVATIVE & CHRISTIAN CELL PHONE PROVIDER! CLICK HERE TO LEARN ABOUT PATRIOT MOBILE
The National Portrait Gallery alerted the artist that they might remove her painting of Transgender Lady Liberty over fears it might anger President Trump.
Sherald accused the Smithsonian of censorship and pulled out of the exhibit.
“When I understood a video would replace the painting, I decided to cancel,” she said. “The video would have opened up for debate the value of trans visibility and I was opposed to that being a part of the ‘American Sublime’ narrative.”
The White House told The New York Times celebrated that news as a step toward restoring sanity in the taxpayer-funded art world. They said the painting all but desecrated one of our most sacred symbols.
“The ‘Trans Forming Liberty’ painting, which sought to reinterpret one of our nation’s most sacred symbols through a divisive and ideological lens, fundamentally strayed from the mission and spirit of our national museums,” Lindsey Halligan, a special assistant to the president who has been working on his efforts to transform the Smithsonian, said in a statement. “The Statue of Liberty is not an abstract canvas for political expression — it is a revered and solemn symbol of freedom, inspiration, and national unity that defines the American spirit.”
The only person censoring Sherald’s exhibit is in fact Sherald. And Lady Liberty is meant to inspire national unity – not pronoun confusion.
Be sure to get a copy of my new book. It’s called “Star-Spangled Blessings: Devotions for Patriots.” Click here to get a copy.