Tennis champions Serena and Venus Williams and filmmaker Ava DuVernay will be honored with new portraits that will be on display at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington on November 10.
According to NY Times, this will be part of the institution’s Portrait of a Nation Award.
The ladies had the opportunity to hand-pick the artist who would paint their portrait. Venus Williams picked Robert Pruitt. Serena Williams chose artist Toyin Ojih Odutola from Nigeria and Ava DuVernay selected her favorite artist, Kenturah Davis.
DuVernay shared her excitement about the project:
“I am overjoyed to be chosen as a Portrait of a Nation honoree by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. To encounter my likeness in those hallowed halls as envisioned by the magnificent Kenturah Davis is a dream that I never knew to dream. A pride that I cannot easily convey but that is deeply and humbly felt.”
All three portraits will be on display in the “Portrait of a Nation” exhibit until Oct. 22, 2023.