Amy Sherald, the artist who painted former first lady Michelle Obama’s official portrait for the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, is working on a new mural in Philadelphia’s Gayborhood.
MORE: Springsteen-based movie shares trailer, featuring classic songs
Sherald has already begun working on the mural, which will take up the better portion of the back entrance to the Target. The mural will be visible on Sansom Street, between 11th and 12th Streets.
News of Sherald working on a Philly mural broke earlier this week, when arts blog Streets Dept reported the news on Twitter:
Carise Mitch, Director of Communications and Brand Management at Mural Arts Philadelphia, confirmed to PhillyVoice on Friday that Sherald is indeed the artist behind the mural.
Sherald has been working professionally as an artist for more than two decades, but her star rose overnight after her striking portrait of Obama caught national attention:
According to an interview this week with The Cut, Sherald, a Georgia native, currently lives in New Jersey. (Considering she’s working on a solo show in New York City, we’re going to guess it’s North Jersey, but that’s okay.)
Sherald has previously worked in Pennsylvania before: She participated in “The Mosaic Project” in 2012 at the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design in Lancaster.
MORE: PHOTOS: Local churches set the stage for new dance performance
Mitch told PhillyVoice that Sherald has asked to keep details about the mural quiet until next week. Perhaps that’s when we’ll learn more about her vision for the latest entry in Philly’s rich mural history.
Follow Adam & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @adamwhermann | @thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice
Add Adam's RSS feed to your feed reader
Have a news tip? Let us know.