Beyonce’s Vogue portrait acquired by Washington's National Portrait Gallery
Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery acquired Beyoncé’s Vogue portrait by Tyler Mitchell for its permanent collection, the photographer announced Tuesday on Twitter.
Spokesperson Concetta Duncan confirmed with FOX Business that the portrait will hang in the Washington, D.C. museum as a part of the permanent collection alongside its collection of presidents, American pop culture artists and music legends like Earth, Wind, and Fire.
“We are delighted to acquire this magnificent portrait of Beyoncé,” said the museum’s associate curator of photographs, Leslie Ureña.
The gallery could not comment on the details of the acquisition and sale at this time, but other high-profile portraits have been valued at millions.
The gallery houses countless priceless pieces. Milton Glaser’s print portrait of music heartthrob Elvis Presley is worth nearly $300 -- unsigned. Baltimore painter Amy Sherald’s geometric painting of former first lady Michelle Obama and Kehinde Wiley’s ground-breaking painting of former President Barack Obama reportedly cost a combined $500,000, causing controversy when they were first unveiled.
The materials and scarcity contribute to the value of the portrait.
Mitchell made history as the first African-American and one of the youngest photographers at 23-years-old to ever shoot a Vogue cover, for the magazine’s September 2018 issue.