James Baldwin, arguably the finest essay writer that this country has ever produced, will be honored through a new exhibit at The Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery. The exhibit, curated by the gallery’s Director of Curatorial Affairs, Rhea L. Combs, and consulted by New Yorker critic Hilton Als, examines Baldwin’s legacy and positions it alongside his contemporaries in art, music, literature, and activism.
According to Essence, the one-room exhibition titled This Morning, This Evening, So Soon: James Baldwin and the Voices of Queer Resistance will encompass Baldwin’s ideas about sexuality, faith, art, and masculinity. As Combs told the outlet, Baldwin’s legacy represents the unapologetic presentation of truth to power.
“(Baldwin) has been a torch-bearer for so many things that
still hold true for today. I think that his legacy is about being able to speak truth to power, and that it is important to be able to live in your truth, and to do that creatively, to do that unapologetically, and to make sure that you use your art or your time on this planet in a way that is seeped in love.”The exhibition will be on display from July 12 to April 20, 2025, and will also feature the work of artists Lyle Ashton Harris, Richard Avedon, Beauford Delaney, Bernard Gotfryd, Glenn Ligon, Donald Moffett, Sedat Pakay, Faith Ringgold, Lorna Simpson, and Jack Whitten. In addition, work from creatives in Baldwin’s circle like musician Nina Simone, filmmaker
Marlon Riggs, and poet Essex Hemphill will be displayed alongside images of Baldwin with gay civil rights activists who influenced him, like playwright and author Lorraine Hansberry and civil rights activist Bayard Rustin.According to Combs, Baldwin’s impact has persisted as we approach what would have been his 100th birthday. “I realized that 2024 would be his 100th anniversary, a centennial for his life, and I wanted to acknowledge and recognize him, because he has such an important presence in contemporary life right now. And it wasn’t always the case, but at this moment, I thought on the heels of so many things that have been going on, especially in the last four years, and even when you scroll through social media, there’s rarely a day that goes past when there’s not a quote from him or an image of him that is sort of on your feed.”
Combs continued, “And it was within that moment in the zeitgeist that I thought, “Okay, this would be important for the Portrait Gallery.” But also I want to acknowledge that I was really taken aback and really moved by Hilton Als’ exhibition that he did at the Werner Gallery in 2019.”
Combs also told Essence that she feels like the exhibition honoring Baldwin is yet another way to honor him as his work continues to speak from beyond the grave. “Yes, and the thing is now that in the late ’80s and the
’70s, he was kind of persona non grata, and that’s another way in which we feel like this show becomes a bit of a reckoning for him. When you think about it, when he passed away in France, he was not getting all the love and adoration that he’s receiving now. He had seen sort of the rise and the fall, and so it is really special to be able to continue, like you said, to give him his flowers. They’re very well-deserved, I think.”RELATED CONTENT: Billy Porter Slated to Produce and Portray James Baldwin in Biopic