Washington, D.C., Dec. 13, 2023: Artist Shawn Michael Warren and Oprah Winfrey pose with his portrait of her during the official unveiling ceremony at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. | Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
WHEN OPRAH WINFREY is involved, amazing things tend to happen. Everybody gets a car, books top bestsellers lists, and a mural artist lands an opportunity to have his work enter the Smithsonian Institution.
A new portrait of Winfrey painted by Chicago artist Shawn Michael Warren is on now display at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. The famed, 69-year-old media mogul is pictured wearing a royal purple taffeta gown in her prayer garden, a lush green space at her Montecito, Calif., estate. The full-length portrait stands nearly seven-feet tall in its frame.
The National Portrait Gallery commissioned the oil on canvas painting, which is now a part of its permanent collection. With Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet, Stedman Graham, Gayle King, Ava DuVernay, and an invitation-only audience of nearly 350 looking on, the grand portrait was unveiled at the Washington, D.C., museum on Dec. 13. At the ceremony, Winfrey and Warren stood on either side of the painting and uncovered it together.
Winfrey said it was the first time she had seen the finished portrait. Despite being a household name with a countless array of personal and professional achievements under her belt, the philanthropist, actor, producer, business leader, and CEO of Harpo Inc., indicated that she was humbled by the occasion.
When Winfrey approached the podium to give her remarks, she opened by declaring, “Wow!” Invoking her four-year-old self and speaking with great emotion, she said, “God can dream a bigger dream for you than you can ever dream for yourself. Because of all the dreams that I had, I didn’t even know there was a National Gallery. I didn’t know there was a National Gallery to dream and aspire to and for. And so, I am living and breathing God’s dream for me this day. That is what has happened and I thank you all for it.”
She continued: “As I stand here, on the eve of my 70th birthday, to have a portrait included in the National Portrait Gallery alongside all the greats—Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and Ida B. Wells. Michelle and Barack Obama. Lena Horne. John F. Kennedy. Oprah Winfrey.”
“God can dream a bigger dream for you than you can ever dream for yourself. Because of all the dreams that I had, I didn’t even know there was a National Gallery. I didn’t know there was a National Gallery to dream and aspire to and for.” — Oprah Winfrey
SHAWN MICHAEL WARREN, “Oprah Winfrey,” 2023 (oil on linen, approximately 6 feet 10 inches x 5 feet 8 inches, framed). | National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Acquired through the generosity of Tommie L. Pegues and Donald A. Capoccia; Taylor and Wemimo Abbey; Anonymous; Deon Jones and Cameron J. Ross; Lisa Opoku and Loki Muthu; Mack Wilbourn; Charles Young and Andrea Wishom Young
WARREN, GREW UP WATCHING The Oprah Winfrey Show with great admiration for Winfrey. He came to the television icon’s attention during the production of a massive mural that featured his depiction of her, a regal, black-and-white portrait of Winfrey in profile. Co-created with artists Jane Barthes, Anna Murphy and Kalan Strauss in 2020, the project was approved by photographer Ruven Afanador (whose image the portrayal was based on), Harpo Studios Inc., and Winfrey, according the Warren’s website.
Spanning 300 feet and an entire city block, the mural was installed on the facade of a mixed-use development including townhomes, apartments, and retail in Chicago’s West Loop. The former home of Harpo Studios, where Winfrey hosted and produced her long-running daytime talk show, is in the same neighborhood. (The Oprah Winfrey Show aired for 25 years and concluded in 2011.)
In October 2020, Winfrey made a short video reacting to the finished mural. “When I saw it, it took my breath away,” she said. “I was so impressed by Shawn Michael Warren’s artistry, the creativity, the way he was able to capture a feeling of hope and inspiration and strength.”
Impressed with the mural, Winfrey nonetheless opened the field when it came to her museum portrait. She said after considering more than 200 artists, she “knew immediately” Warren had to be the one to make her portrait. Following the unveiling, speaking with reporters when the portrait was installed for the first time at the National Portrait Gallery, she thanked Warren for capturing her strength, her joy, and “the sense of contentment that I now feel.”
Washington, D.C., Dec. 13, 2023: Oprah Winfrey and artist Shawn Michael Warren unveil her portrait at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. | Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
KNOWN FOR HIS narrative and allegorical work, Warren explores African American history and its pioneering figures in his art. In addition to Winfrey, he has paid tribute to Martin Luther King Jr., Maya Angelou, and Marshall “Major” Taylor (1878-1932), the world cycling champion, among others, with murals in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Indianapolis, Ind. Warren earned a BFA from the American Academy of Art in Chicago, continued his painting studies at the Academy in Florence, Italy, and is a member of the U.S. Department of State’s Art in Embassies program.
At the unveiling, Warren called Winfrey his friend and muse. “I am tremendously humbled to have been your choice to take on the task of capturing your likeness and essence for a purpose that will outlive both you and I,” he said. “You could have chosen anyone, but you saw fit that an artist from the place you called home during your rise to prominence should be given this honor. Thank you for your kindness, your trust, your playfulness, welcoming us into your home, and allowing us to capture your portrait in your most sacred space, your prayer garden, which is what you see in the background.”
Warren added: “It is my hope that this portrait will cause future generations to become curious about the life, legacy, and philanthropic acts of Miss Winfrey and that it will inspire the next generation of leaders, givers, and pioneers to come.”
“It is my hope that this portrait will cause future generations to become curious about the life, legacy, and philanthropic acts of Miss Winfrey and that it will inspire the next generation of leaders, givers, and pioneers to come.” — Artist Shawn Michael Warren
The portrait was more than two years in the making. To create the image, Warren conducted a sitting with Winfrey at her home. Symbolism abounds in the painting. Winfrey stands surrounded by dozen oak trees that serve as metaphors for the 12 disciples of Jesus. She is holding the sprig of an olive tree, referencing the generous spirit, for which she is known. Natural light captures her ebullient expression as she gazes just beyond the viewer. Then there is her dress. Designed by Christian Siriano, who got his start on Season 4 of Project Runway in 2007, the purple dress pays homage to “The Color Purple,” Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.
Winfrey’s entrée into acting came via the film version of the book produced by Steven Spielberg in 1985. Contractual obligations to her eponymous talk show, before she owned it outright, almost prevented her from being able to join the cast. Now Winfrey has produced a musical version of “The Color Purple,” based on the Broadway play, that opens in movie theaters on Christmas Day (Dec. 25). Directed by artist Blitz Bazawule, the new film stars Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, and Danielle Brooks, who reprises the role of Sofia played by Winfrey, nearly 40 years ago. In her remarks at the unveiling, Winfrey said, “‘The Color Purple’ has been seminal in my life.”
Washington, D.C., Dec. 13, 2023: Oprah Winfrey and artist Shawn Michael Warren embrace after unveiling his portrait of Winfrey at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. | Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
BEYOND HER NEW PORTRAIT, Winfrey has close ties to the Smithsonian. She was a founding donor of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), contributing more than $20 million to establish the landmark museum, which opened in 2016. The largesse earned her naming rights. NMAAHC’s 350-seat, state-of-the-art theater is called the Oprah Winfrey Theater. She is also a member of NMAAHC’s Museum Council.
In 2018, “Watching Oprah: The Oprah Winfrey Show and American Culture” opened at NMAAHC. The exhibition was co-organized by Rhea L. Combs, then-curator of film and photography at NMAAHC and head of the museum’s Earl W. and Amanda Stafford Center for African American Media Arts.
Combs has since joined the National Portrait Gallery, where she began serving as director of curatorial affairs in 2021. It was Combs who led the commission and acquisition of Winfrey’s portrait, which was made possible by the generosity of several donors. The painting is on view on the first floor of the National Portrait Gallery in the Recent Acquisitions gallery through October 2024.
“Artist Shawn Michael Warren’s remarkable attention to detail and keen knowledge of color theory are fully represented in this vivid, large-scale portrait of Oprah Winfrey,” Combs said. “It is apparent that the level of care and keen observation that are a part of his artistic practice are on beautiful display here. As someone who grew up in Chicago watching and admiring Oprah on television, in this painting Warren has been able to deftly capture the wonderful spirit and engaging energy of Oprah Winfrey.” CT
FIND MORE about artist Shawn Michael Warren on his website and Instagram
FIND MORE about Warren’s Oprah Winfrey mural in the Chicago Sun-Times
FIND MORE Oprah Winfrey was previously represented in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery with a few smaller works, including a print by Mickalene Thomas and a photograph by Brian Lanker included his book “I Dream a World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America” and the related exhibition recently presented at the museum
Highlights from the Oprah Winfrey Portrait Unveiling at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 13, 2023. | Video by Oprah Daily
Washington, D.C., Dec. 13, 2023: Rhea L. Combs, the director of curatorial affairs at the National Portrait Gallery, who led the commission of Oprah Winfrey’s portrait, greets Winfrey as Lonnie G. Bunch III and NPG Director Kim Sajet look on in the background. | Photo © Tony Powell
Washington, D.C., Dec. 13, 2023: Kim Sajet, director of Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, gives opening remarks at Oprah Winfrey Portrait Unveiling at Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery on December 13, 2023 in Washington, DC. | Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
Washington, D.C., Dec. 13, 2023: Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III speaks, as Oprah Winfrey looks on, during her portrait unveiling at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. | Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery
Washington, D.C., Dec. 13, 2023: Artist Shawn Michael Warren speaks during Oprah Winfrey Portrait Unveiling as, from left, Rhea L. Combs, NPG director of curatorial affairs and Oprah Winfrey look on, at Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. | Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery
Washington, D.C., Dec. 13, 2023: Addressing an invitation-only audience of nearly 350, Oprah Winfrey speaks during her portrait unveiling ceremony at Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. | Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery
Washington, D.C., Dec. 13, 2023: From left, Artist Shawn Michael Warren; Rhea L. Combs, director of curatorial affairs, National Portrait Gallery; NPG Director Kim Sajet; and Lonnie G. Bunch III, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, look on as Oprah Winfrey gives remarks at her portrait unveiling. | Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
Washington, D.C., Dec. 13, 2023: Oprah Winfrey, in a moment of elation, poses before her newly unveiled portrait installed in the Recent Acquisitions Gallery at Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. | Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
Washington, D.C., Dec. 13, 2023: From left, National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet; NPG Director of Curatorial Affairs Rhea L. Combs, Oprah Winfrey, and artist Shawn Michael Warren, pose with his portrait of Winfrey in Recent Acquisitions Gallery at Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. | Photo © Tony Powell
BOOKSHELF
A portrait of Oprah Winfrey by photographer Brian Lanker is included in his book “I Dream a World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America.” The landmark volume inspired a two-part exhibition recently on view at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. Rhea L. Combs co-edited the recent volume “Regeneration: Black Cinema, 1898–1971” and wrote the introduction to “Through the African American Lens: Double Exposure (Double Exposure, 1),” a publication produced by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Also consider the many books that Winfrey has selected for her popular book club over the years.
