ĴýI Also Saw the Women Who Came Before MeĴý
ĴýI Also Saw the Women Who Came Before MeĴý
Ileah Welch Ĵý05
A child advocacy lawyer is selected for a prominent portrait series thatĴýs earning wide praise for its depiction of black Americans.
Ileah Welch Ĵý05 and former First Lady Michelle Obama have something in common: both have had portraits painted by Amy Sherald, an artist whoĴýs earning national recognition for helping bring the lives of black Americans to prominence in American art.
ART MAJOR: Welch, the subject of one of seven paintings in SheraldĴýs highly regarded 2019 exhibition, says the artistĴýs work captures the experience of African Americans in ways that are rare in major art shows. AMY SHERALD, THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, 2019; OIL ON CANVAS (137.2 X 109.2 X 6.4 CM 54 X 43 X 2 1/2 INCHES) © AMY SHERALD; COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND HAUSER & WIRTH
Just two years after unveiling her portrait of ObamaĴýa work thatĴýs now in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC,ĴýSherald mounted a solo exhibition last fall at Hauser & Wirth, an influential New York City gallery. Titled At the Heart of the Matter . . . , the suite of paintings featured portraits of African Americans.
One of the paintings was of Welch, who says the paintings are particularly moving because they beautifully and simply capture ordinary aspects of daily life for African Americans and the black community. That experience, she says, isnĴýt often represented in major art exhibitions.
ĴýWhen I walked in, I saw the painting immediately. It took my breath away,Ĵý Welch says. ĴýAmy highlighted the equally important parts of me, and she gave meaning to the small things in the painting, like the lipstick, my hand in my pocket, and the polka dots on the dress.Ĵý
Opening last fall, the exhibition was acclaimed for showcasing SheraldĴýs Ĵýsmoldering yet self-contained brand of portraiture,Ĵý as a review in the New York Times described the exhibition.
Capturing her subjectsĴý faces in a gray monochromeĴýa grisaille that the artist has made her signatureĴýSherald places her subjects in bold settings and vibrant backdrops, resulting in paintings of confident people who Ĵýinvite close, exclusive looking, a kind of communion.Ĵý
Several reviewers cited the exhibition as one of the most important of 2019. For Welch, an anthropology major at Rochester and now a child advocacy lawyer in Washington, DC, it was an unexpected honor to be painted by Sherald.
ĴýI saw the portrait of me,Ĵý she says. ĴýBut I also saw my mother, my sisters, and the women who came before meĴýand you know her, too.Ĵý
The story begins in the summer of 2018, when a friend sent Welch a screenshot of an Instagram post. An unnamed artist was holding a casting call in Baltimore that day and was looking for black models of all sizes and shapes, between the ages of 8 and 80. On a whim, Welch and her sister, who was visiting from out of town, headed to the studio.
The artist turned out to be Sherald, and in January 2019, Welch heard from the artistĴýs studio manager, who said Sherald wanted to paint WelchĴýs portrait. To fill in more of the back story: the manager later said Sherald had never used an open call to recruit models before. She didnĴýt like the process and doesnĴýt plan to do it again.
In the end, the only person Sherald chose to paint from all the people who responded to the call was Welch, who was invited back to Baltimore for a full photo shoot with Sherald. ĴýThatĴýs how Amy works. She takes a million photos and then she paints from them,Ĵý Welch says, remembering how nervous she was at the photo shoot. ĴýIĴým not a model and I donĴýt know what itĴýs like to Ĵýsmile with my eyesĴý or to Ĵýlook seriousĴý for the camera. But Amy was greatĴýso friendly and welcomingĴýand she made it easy.Ĵý
While Welch eventually found out that Sherald had completed a portrait of her, she didnĴýt know whether it would be in the New York exhibition until she walked into the gallery last fall. The work, a portrait titled ĴýThe Girl Next Door,Ĵý drew the eyes of reviewers as well, who found in it a companionable self-possession that drew them to wonder about the young womanĴýs life beyond the frame.
As the New Yorker noted: ĴýHer look is rather guilelessĴýfar from the cool savoir of the beach peopleĴýbut equal, you somehow know, to whatever daily life she is leading. She is praised by SheraldĴýs brush for the insouciance of her garb: the bouncy dots a tonic exception to the refinement of the abstract designs that the other subjectsĴý clothes provide for this painterĴýs aesthetic use. ĴýWhatĴýs the neighborĴýs name? IĴýd like to know. I almost feel that I doĴýon the tip of my tongue, about to come to me.Ĵý
ĴýThatĴýs what I felt,Ĵý Welch says, as she reflects on the ways the portraits resonate beyond a single viewing. ĴýI saw the portrait of me,Ĵý she says. ĴýBut I also saw my mother, my sisters, and the women who came before meĴýand you know her, too.Ĵý
Ĵý Kristine Thompson
This article originally appeared in the winter 2020 issue of Rochester Review magazine.