THIS WORK MUST BE IN AN INSTITUTION

The Boston Globe, January 29, 2021
ART

‘This work must be in an institution.’ Amanda Gorman portrait gifted to Harvard

The portrait of inauguration poet and Harvard grad Amanda Gorman was gifted to Harvard.
The portrait of inauguration poet and Harvard grad Amanda Gorman was gifted to Harvard.RAPHAEL ADJETEY ADJEI MAYNE

Former National Youth Poet Laureate and Harvard graduate Amanda Gorman impressed the whole world on Jan. 20 when she read “The Hill We Climb,” a poem she wrote especially for the inauguration of President Biden.

One week later, her alma mater was gifted with a portrait of the poet, a vibrant acrylic painting by Ghanaian artist Raphael Adjetey Adjei Mayne.

The portrait, which depicts Gorman speaking at the inauguration, was donated to Harvard University’s Hutchins Center for African & African American Research by Amar Singh, a Harvard alum as well as a private London-based art collector known for supporting women artists. The final price was around 8,000 pounds (or about $9,692). Independent curator Destinee Ross-Sutton helped arrange the sale.

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