A Midsummer Afternoon Dream 2020

Curator: This is Amy Sherald’s "A Midsummer Afternoon Dream," painted in 2020. Editor: It's utterly serene. The woman in that azure dress against the sunflowers—such a vivid yet peaceful scene. The light feels very controlled. Curator: Sherald is known for depicting African Americans in scenes of everyday life, challenging the historical absence of Black representation in portraiture. Her figures’ skin tones are rendered in grayscale, which she says allows viewers to see the figures beyond race. Editor: The gray skin creates a striking contrast to the intense hues of the dress and the surrounding vegetation. It draws your eye directly to the form. Notice how the dress is composed of distinct horizontal sections: the bodice, the skirt and that band just below. That is balanced by the diagonals of the grass and fence. And consider the geometric arrangement of the sunflowers above. Curator: Precisely. And placing the subject within a traditionally idyllic scene like this invokes art historical precedents while subverting them. Sherald prompts us to consider who has historically been included—and excluded—from the American dream. She uses accessible imagery, such as summer landscapes with flowers and the American dream itself, to insert the black figure into places that have often been excluded. Editor: Also, that white picket fence, and the small dog. There's a strong sense of artifice to that tableau; I like that tension in what appears to be simply bucolic. Curator: True. The whiteness of the fence almost seems to guard that idyll. One must consider how this image functions in a world grappling with racial injustice. Sherald reclaims and reimagines these spaces. Editor: Absolutely, there's a conversation here about belonging, subtly hinted at by color and formal arrangement. A striking piece! Curator: A great piece to examine for it offers viewers entry points into understanding modern Black American portraiture, its presence and purpose in art history.