Oprah Winfrey Honored with a Painting at Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery

Shawn Michael Warren, a Chicago artist, recently unveiled a portrait of Oprah Winfrey at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.

Warren had previously painted a mural of Oprah in Chicago three years ago, which impressed Winfrey. The new portrait depicts Winfrey in a purple dress, holding an olive branch, with the backdrop of her Montecito home.

“I was so impressed by Shawn Michael Warren’s artistry, the creativity, the way he was able to capture a feeling of hope and inspiration and strength,” she said of his work.

Fast forward to Wednesday in Washington, DC, where the artist and Winfrey were together to unveil a new portrait Warren painted of her for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.

The painting shows Winfrey looking resplendent in a purple dress, holding an olive branch.

While sharing context for the portrait, Winfrey told the crowd that the color purple “has been seminal” in her life. Her role in the 1985 film “The Color Purple” helped make her a movie star and she’s a producer on the upcoming film version of “The Color Purple” musical.

She referenced her favorite bible verse, Acts 17: 28, which states in part: “For in Him we live and move and have our being.”

That scripture came to her mind, Winfrey said, when she was recently struck by the beauty and light outside a window of her home in Montecito, Calfornia.

“I thought ‘I am moving and breathing in the space that is God right now,’” Winfrey recalled. “And I am living in this dream that God had for me. ‘Cause I don’t know how I got from [her birthplace in] Mississippi to Montecito.”

It was her Montecito home which provided the backdrop for her portrait.

He thanked Winfrey during his remarks on Wednesday, calling her his “friend and muse.”

“You could have chosen anyone, but you saw fit that an artist from the place you called home during your rise to prominence should be given this honor,” Warren said of Winfrey. “Thank you for your kindness, your trust, your playfulness, welcoming us into your home, and allowing us to capture your portrait.”

In her speech, Winfrey got emotional as she referenced other notable people throughout history whose portraits also hang in the gallery, including Harriett Tubman, Frederick Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, Ida B. Wells, former first lady Michelle and President Barack Obama, Lena Horne and President John F. Kennedy.

Entrepreneur Mack Wilbourn serves as a commissioner for the National Portrait Gallery and told CNN that Winfrey was an ideal choice for a portrait given her cultural influence and how she’s helped change the world.

“This is just another milestone,” he said. “One that is well deserved and will be around for centuries to come.”

Winfrey closed her remarks by noting that she’ll turn 70 in January, and she recalled that 20 years ago, her mentor, the late poet and writer Maya Angelou, wrote a poem for her birthday.

The unveiling event was attended by Winfrey's friends and associates, including Gayle King and Ava DuVernay. In her remarks, Winfrey expressed gratitude and reflected on her life's journey. The portrait is now part of the National Portrait Gallery's collection.