Presidents, first ladies and iconic American figures are immortalized within the halls of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in D.C. On Wednesday morning, a new face joined their ranks: media and philanthropic icon Oprah Winfrey.
“On the eve of my 70th birthday, to have a portrait included in the National Portrait Gallery, alongside all the greats, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln and Ida B. Wells, Michelle and Barack Obama, Lena Horne, John F. Kennedy … Oprah Winfrey,” she said.
Winfrey and Chicago-based artist Shawn Michael Warren pulled down the black cloth covering the 6-foot-10-inch tall, hyper-realist portrait in front of friends, family, admirers and media in the National Portrait Gallery’s courtyard Wednesday morning.
“God can dream a bigger dream for you that you can ever dream for yourself,” Winfrey said after the unveiling.
“Because of all the dreams that I had, I didn’t even know there was a national gallery,” she joked to the audience.
The massive portrait shows Winfrey with her signature smile standing in her home’s prayer garden. She is wearing a grand plum purple gown. The choice was inspired by Winfrey’s role as Sofia in the film “The Color Purple.”
“I chose to wear the color purple, because for me, that color has been seminal in my life,” Winfrey said. “That role in that movie that I wanted more than anything else in my life served as a foundation for my future.”
She described how she bargained with producers of her show to take two months off to shoot the film by promising to give up all sick, personal and vacation days for the remainder of her contract.
Winfrey said her attorney at the time told her she never wanted to be in that position again.
“You want to be in a position where you own yourself and nobody tells you that you can or cannot go and shoot a film. And it’s because of the color purple that I said, ‘Yes, I will take the risk of owning myself,'” Winfrey said.
The museum commissioned the painting pointing to Winfrey’s incredible career as a leader, philanthropist, producer, actor, author and entrepreneur. Her significant contributions to American pop culture earned her a place in the halls.
“Through her rise to fame as host and producer of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah demonstrated an unparalleled ability to connect with people and inspire them to become the best versions of themselves,” said National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet in a statement.
“As Nina Simone once said, ‘it is an artist’s duty to reflect the times,'” Michael Warren, who painted the portrait, said. “It is my hope that this portrait will cause future generations to become curious of the life, legacy and philanthropic acts of Miss Winfrey and that it will inspire the next generation of leaders, givers and pioneers to come.”
The public can now see Winfrey’s portrait at the “Recent Acquisitions” exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery.
