Ava DuVernay, Marian Wright Edelman, Serena And Venus Williams And Others Celebrated At Portrait Of A Nation Gala

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery honored seven of its 2022 Portrait of a Nation Award recipients on Nov. 10.

The recipients were producer and filmmaker Ava DuVernay, Grand Slam champs Venus and Serena Williams and civil rights activist Marian Wright Edelman. Other recipients were Spanish-American culinary trailblazer José Andrés, Grammy award-winning music industry executive Clive Davis and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Dr. Anthony Fauci.

“This year’s Portrait of a Nation Gala strengthens our commitment to contemporary portraiture,” the Gallery’s director, Kim Sajet, said in a statement. “We collaborate with contemporary artists to illuminate the history unfolding around us while also looking back at the changemakers who came before. Portraiture is both the past and present, contemplative and motivating, traditional and avant-garde, and we encourage everyone looking at the portraits of this year’s honorees to reflect on how they might see history and want themselves to be seen.”

During the red-carpeted event, made possible by Rhea L. Combs, director of curatorial affairs; Taína Caragol, curator of painting, sculpture and Latinx art and history; and Leslie Ureña, curator of photographs, 750 celebrities across the globe walked the gallery, viewing portraits of the honorees.

There were six painted

portraits and one photograph created by artists Kadir Nelson (Andrés’ portrait), Toyin Ojih Odutola (Serena’s portrait), Hugo Crosthwaite (Fauci’s portrait), Robert Pruitt (Venus’ portrait), Kenturah Davis (DuVernay’s portrait), Ruven Afanador (Edelman’s picture) and David Hockney (Clive’s portrait).

Those who presented awards to the honorees were Laurene Powell Jobs (Steve Jobs’ wife), 15-time Grammy-wining singer-songwriter Alicia Keys, journalist Isabel Wilkerson, politician Hillary Rodham Clinton, billionaire David Rubenstein, chairwoman of Starbucks Corporation Mellody Hobson, Sonya Haffey, and the Williams’ sister Isha Price.

Those who attended the star-studded event were Symone Sanders, Don Lemon, Cory Booker and Jeff Bezos.