The US State Department says it plans to sell a painting by Kehinde Wiley that was taken down from the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic. Installed in the embassy as part of a 2018 diplomatic art program, the work shows President Barack Obama in a garden, surrounded by tropical flowers.
The painting was one of several commissioned during the Obama administration for display in US diplomatic facilities overseas. According to the State Department, it was removed after the building was renovated and is now being held for possible sale.
The department said the work will be transferred to the General Services Administration, the agency responsible for disposing of federal property. The decision has drawn criticism from arts advocates and revived debate over the administration’s handling of public art and cultural diplomacy.
Kehinde Wiley, whose portrait of Obama is part of the National Portrait Gallery’s collection, has emerged as one of the most prominent contemporary painters in the United States. The embassy piece is part of a wider body of public and institutional commissions by the artist.
