U.S. Embassy Removes Work by Obama’s Portrait Artist Over ‘Woke Ideologies’
A Kehinde Wiley painting commissioned by the State Department was removed from a U.S. Embassy after officials called it "woke." The post U.S. Embassy Removes Work by Obama’s Portrait Artist Over ‘Woke Ideologies’ appeared first on The Quintessential Gentleman.
Black News 
A painting by Kehinde Wiley, the renowned artist who painted former President Barack Obama‘s official portrait, has been removed from the United States Embassy in the Dominican Republic. The artwork’s removal comes as part of a push by the current administration to eliminate what officials are calling “globalist and woke ideologies” from diplomatic spaces.
The painting, titled Young Artists After Siamesas 1960, was commissioned in 2013 under the State Department’s Art in Embassies program and paid for with public funds. Completed in 2015, the large-scale piece features four Dominican models posed against Wiley’s signature vibrant floral backdrop.
The composition was the result of two years of research, drawing direct inspiration from classical works by Dominican artists Celeste Woss y Gil and Gilberto Hernández Ortega, and was created with the help of local art students from the Facultad de Artes and the Altos de Chavón School of Design.
Trump Officials Remove, Plan to Sell 'Very Woke' Painting by Artist Behind Obama Portrait | Amy Furr, Breitbart
— Owen Gregorian (@OwenGregorian) August 26, 2026
The U.S. Department of State reportedly wants to sell a painting deemed “very woke” that was commissioned by the federal government during former President Barack… pic.twitter.com/LEsHU1hyeG
The painting’s removal was highly publicized by Leah Campos, the Trump-appointed U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic.
Earlier this month, Campos took to Instagram to post a video of the artwork being taken down by embassy staff. In the video, the painting was draped in a tarp printed with the American flag, all set to the heavy metal rock anthem “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” “In the Trump Administration and under my leadership we are turning away from globalist and woke ideologies and instead embracing American patriotism and the beauty of our great country!” Campos wrote in the video’s caption.
She further told TIME that she intends for all art and decor at the embassy to reflect the “beauty, strength, and commitment to liberty of the United States.” Erin Scavino, the current director of the State Department’s Art in Embassies program, heavily criticized the artwork on a recent podcast, drawing attention to Wiley’s connection to Obama and describing the painting itself as “very woke” and “aesthetically terrifying.”
While the formal statement from the State Department didn’t critique the visual content of the painting itself, it pointed to past controversies surrounding the artist. Officials referenced sexual assault allegations against Wiley, which the artist has firmly denied, and comments he made regarding his 2012 piece, Judith and Holofernes. That painting, which depicts a Black woman holding the severed head of a white woman, was previously described by Wiley as a play on the “kill whitey thing.” “The work of an individual with such violent and racist words and depictions has no place in the America First State Department,” a spokesperson stated.
The State Department is currently consulting with legal representatives to figure out if it is legally permitted to sell the artwork. Given that a smaller Wiley painting recently fetched nearly $845,000 at auction, the department has indicated that selling the piece would be the ultimate goal if allowed.
The post U.S. Embassy Removes Work by Obama’s Portrait Artist Over ‘Woke Ideologies’ appeared first on The Quintessential Gentleman.
