Amy Sherald cancels the Smithsonian exhibition after Vance Flags Trans Lady Liberty

EXCLUSIVE: The artist Amy Sherald has canceled his next exhibition featuring a portrait of a statue of transgender freedom at the National Smithsonian portrait gallery after vice-president JD Vance raised the concerns of the enclosed show of Woke and Division content, Fox News Digital learned.

President Donald Trump signed a decree in March which placed Vance in charge of supervising the abolition of programs or exhibitions in the museums of the Smithsonian which “degrade the shared American values, divide the Americans according to the race or promote programs or ideologies incompatible with the law and federal policy”.

Vance said that the “Sublime American Sublime” exhibition of Sherald had violated Trump’s decree and was an example of awakened and dividing content at a meeting on June 9 with the Board of Regents, a source familiar with the meeting in Fox News Digital.

The artist draws the art of the Smithsonian Gallery after the museum tries to modify his painting trans Statue of Liberty

Arewà Basit stands in front of Amy Sherald’s painting, “Trans Forming Liberty” exhibited at Whitney Museum of American Art in Manhattan, NY, April 2, 2025. (Tiffany Sage / BFA / Shutterstock)

“Vice-president Vance led the effort to eliminate the Woke indoctrination of our beloved Smithsonian museums,” said an administration official in an email at Fox News Digital. “In addition to passing the only major bill through the Senate and helping President Trump navigating international crises, the vice-president has demonstrated his ability to make President Trump’s priorities through the finish line.”

Sherald, best known for painting the official portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama in 2018, announced on Thursday that she was shooting her program, “American sublime”, of the National Portrait Gallery de Smithsonian, scheduled for September, reported the New York Times for the first time.

Sherald said that she cancels her work from the exhibition after being informed that the National Portrait Gallery had concerns about the presentation of the portrait of the statue of transgender freedom during the show. Painting, “Trans Forming Liberty”, represents a trans woman with pink hair wearing a blue dress.

Trump’s White House calls Smithsonian for pushing unilateral and unilateral political accounts

Amy Sherald attends the Tribeca 2023 ball at the New York Academy of Art on April 4, 2023 in New York. (Santiago Felipe / Contributor)

“These concerns have led to discussions on the abolition of exposure work,” said Sherald in a statement, the New York Times reported on Thursday. “Although no one is to be blamed, it is clear that institutional fear shaped by a broader climate of political hostility towards Trans lives played a role.

“This painting exists to hold a space for someone whose humanity has been politicized and ignored. I cannot in good conscience in a culture of censorship, especially when it targets vulnerable communities.

“At a time when transgender is legislated, silenced and endangered in our country, silence is not an option,” added Sherald. “I care about my work. I hold my guards. I want the truth that all people deserve to be seen – not only in life, but in art.”

The Smithsonian did not immediately respond to a request for comments concerning Vance’s participation in the case.

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President Donald Trump and vice-president JD Vance after a ceremony with the national champion of 2025 Ohio State Buckeyes on the southern lawn of the White House on April 14, 2025. (Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, included via Getty Images)

The White House said that the abolition of Sherald’s exhibition is a “principle of principle and necessary” to the culture of unity in institutions like the Smithsonian.

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“The painting of Liberty” Transmant “, which sought to reinterpret one of the most sacred symbols of our country through a division and ideological lens, has fundamentally moved from the mission and the spirit of our national museums,” said Special Assistant Trump Lindsey Halligan in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“The statue of freedom is not an abstract canvas for political expression. It is a venerated and solemn symbol of freedom, inspiration and national unity that defines the American spirit.”

The other members of the Smithsonian Council of Regents include the Chief United States, John Roberts, as well as the John Boozman, R-Ark Senators.; Catherine Cortez Masto, D-NEV.; and Gary Peters, d-mich., With several other members of the room.

Gabriel Hays of Fox News contributed to this report.