Ava DuVernay, Clive Davis, Williams Sisters Set for National Portrait Gallery Honors

The National Portrait Gallery, public home to the presidential portraits, has named Clive Davis, Ava DuVernay, Venus Williams and Serena Williams among its 2022 honorees for its annual Portrait of a Nation Award.

The legendary record producer and music executive, the Oscar-winning director and recording-breaking athletes-turned-producers will be awarded during the biennial Portrait of a Nation Gala, held on Saturday, Nov. 12. As part of the private event, which will feature a special performance, each honoree will be presented with their award by a person of their choice at the Smithsonian museum in Washington, D.C.

The 2022 recipients’ portraits — commissions by notable contemporary artists — will also be on public display from Nov. 10 through Oct. 22, 2023, as part of the institution’s “Recent Acquisitions” exhibition.

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“These honorees are innovators in their respective disciplines and advocates for social causes who use their voices to care for and lift up others,” Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery, said in a statement. “The Portrait of a Nation Award reminds us that history is living and the choices people make have an impact on the nation’s legacy.”

Other 2022 recipients include chief medical advisor to the president Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., the founder of World Central Kitchen José Andrés and founder of the Children’s Defense Fund Marian Wright Edelman. Established in 2015, past honorees include Spike Lee; Rita Moreno; Lin-Manuel Miranda; Aretha Franklin; Earth, Wind & Fire; Anna Wintour; Jeffrey P. Bezos and Madeleine K. Albright.

The award, which saw a one-year delay due to the global pandemic, “recognizes extraordinary individuals who have made transformative contributions to the United States and its people across numerous fields of endeavor, ranging from the arts and sciences to sports and humanitarianism,” according to the museum.

Proceeds from the gala support the Portrait Gallery’s endowment for exhibitions, collections, commissions and education programs.