Amy Sherald

Known for: grayscale figurative portraiture; the official portrait of Michelle Obama (2018)

Amy Sherald paints her subjects in grayscale skin tones — departing from naturalistic flesh color to create a formal distance that she has described as liberating her subjects from racial categorization — against solid, saturated color backgrounds. She was commissioned to paint the official portrait of Michelle Obama for the National Portrait Gallery in 2018, a painting that attracted record attendance when it went on display. She studied at Maryland Institute College of Art and the Spelman College after graduating from Clark-Atlanta University.