Amy Sherald, the portrait artist who gained critical acclaim for her painting of the former First Lady Michelle Obama, announced that she will be canceling her upcoming show at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. The New York Times reports that Sherald made the decision after being told that the museum was considering removing her painting of a transgender Statue of Liberty to avoid issues with the Trump administration. See on Instagram Her show, "American Sublime," was scheduled to take place in September, and according to the Times, it would have been the first show by a Black contemporary artist at the National Portrait Gallery.The revered artist sent a letter to the secretary of the Smithsonian, Lonnie G. Bunch III, stating, "I entered into this collaboration in good faith, believing that the institution shared a commitment to presenting work that reflects the full, complex truth of American life." She continued, "Unfortunately, it has become clear that the conditions no longer support the integrity of the work as conceived.The publication writes that she was informed of "internal concerns" about including the painting titled Trans Forming Liberty, and in a statement to the Times, she wrote, "These concerns led to discussions about removing the work from the exhibition. Its clear that institutional fear, shaped by a broader climate of political hostility toward trans lives, played a role.Sherald told the Times that Bunch suggested that instead of having the painting, there should be a video of people discussing transgender lives, and this ultimately led her to cancel the show. "The video would have opened up for debate the value of trans visibility, and I was opposed to that being a part of the American Sublime narrative," she said in her statement.Her work is known for its political stance, which is why the former First Lady chose her, and she made this clear in her statement, explaining why she felt it was the right decision to withdraw her show from the National Portrait Gallery. "I cannot in good conscience comply with a culture of censorship, especially when it targets vulnerable communities," Sherald wrote. "At a time when transgender people are being legislated against, silenced, and endangered across our nation, she added, silence is not an option.This is not the first time the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery has been criticized for queer erasure. A retrospective of the works of Felix Gonzlez-Torres, which closed this month, came under fire for obfuscating the late artist's queer identity and connection to the AIDS crisis, particularly in the portrait of his partner Ross Laycock, "Untitled" (Portrait of Ross in L.A.)."Amy Sherald: American Sublime" is currently on display at the Whitney in NYC through August 10.