Hugo Crosthwaite, animation still from “Portrait of Anthony S. Fauci,” 2022. Copyright Hugo Crosthwaite, 2o22. Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.
Luis De Jesus Los Angeles is very pleased to announce “Portrait of a Nation: 2022 Honorees,” an exhibition of newly commissioned portraits at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., opening November 10, 2022. The exhibition features the newly commissioned portrait of public health expert Dr. Anthony S. Fauci by gallery artist Hugo Crosthwaite.
Hugo Crosthwaite (b. 1971) is the first-prize winner of the National Portrait Gallery’s 2019 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. The newly commissioned portrait of Anthony S. Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and Chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation, as well as Chief Medical Advisor to the President, is comprised of a stop-motion drawing animation and a suite of 19 drawings on paper, seven of which will be on view.
Crosthwaite offers an atypical approach to this traditional genre. His animated portrait of Dr. Fauci presents a powerful visual narrative of a private figure whose pioneering contributions across five decades at the forefront of U.S. efforts to contend with viral diseases have often placed him in front of the cameras and at the center of the public eye.
“Portrait of a Nation: 2022 Honorees”, on view on the museum’s first floor through Oct. 22, 2023, features the seven recipients of the museum’s 2022 Portrait of a Nation Awards. Included in this intimate exhibition are newly acquired portraits of honorees José Andrés, Clive Davis, Ava DuVernay, Marian Wright Edelman, Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., Serena Williams and Venus Williams. The exhibition premieres six newly commissioned works and one never-before-shown photograph, each by a highly acclaimed contemporary artist.
In addition to Hugo Crosthwaite’s portrait of Dr. Fauci, “Portrait of a Nation: 2022 Honorees” will premiere a new oil painting by Kadir Nelson of José Andrés, the renowned culinary entrepreneur and humanitarian. Clive Davis, award-winning producer and music industry executive, will be represented with a rare commission by the British artist David Hockney (b. 1937). A new work on paper by the California-based artist Kenturah Davis (b. 1984) features an intricate depiction of filmmaker Ava DuVernay.
The Portrait Gallery has also commissioned portraits of tennis champions and entrepreneurs Serena Williams and Venus Williams, by New York-based artists Toyin Ojih Odutola (b. 1985) and Robert Pruitt (b. 1975), respectively. Both are works on paper and offer a close-up of their strength and optimism, embedded with symbolism. “Portrait of a Nation: 2022 Honorees” will also present the Colombia-born artist Ruven Afanador’s (b. 1959) black-and-white photograph of Edelman, the civil and children’s rights activist.
The newly acquired works contribute to the National Portrait Gallery’s collection of more than 23,000 objects and its history of collaborating with contemporary artists. The “Portrait of a Nation: 2022 Honorees” exhibition is curated by Rhea L. Combs, director of curatorial affairs in collaboration with Taína Caragol, curator of painting, sculpture and Latinx art and history, and Leslie Ureña, curator of photographs. “Portrait of a Nation: 2022 Honorees” is generously supported by NIKE, Inc.
Established in 2015, the Portrait of a Nation Awards honor extraordinary individuals who have made transformative contributions to the United States and its people across all fields of endeavor. The 2022 honorees will be presented with their awards at the Portrait of a Nation Gala on November 12.