Artist Amy Sherald on what's behind her subjects' eyes in portraits
Amy Sherald spent years painting in obscurity, and almost died from a rare heart condition. Now 52, the artist behind Michelle Obama's official portrait is one of America's most celebrated painters.
Updated on: July 26, 2026 / 7:00 PM EDT / CBS News
This is an updated version of a story first published on Oct. 19, 2025. The original video can be viewed here .
When Amy Sherald was selected to paint the official portrait of Michelle Obama nine years ago, many people in the art world didn't know who she was. They do now. At 52, Sherald has become one of America's most celebrated painters. She had three major museum retrospectives last year. But it was another exhibition last fall -- at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery - that made headlines. Sherald cancelled it -- fearing museum officials, under pressure from the Trump administration, were going to try and censor a painting. As we first reported last October, Sherald has faced much bigger challenges than that. Like many of the people she paints, Amy Sherald has found a way to make her way.
In Amy Sherald's paintings, her subjects — Black Americans — stare silently straight out from the canvas. There is something in their eyes that draws you in, something knowing in their gaze. They appear unapologetic, unafraid, posed against monochromatic backgrounds, or in scenes as bright and bold as they are. In this painting, a farmer leans atop an impossibly pristine John Deere tractor, surrounded by blue sky and green grass.
Anderson Cooper: In so many of your paintings the subject is looking out at the viewer.
Amy Sherald: I think that's important, I don't think these portraits are confrontational, but they are present. And they do want you to sit with them and have an exchange.