Latest news with #NationalPortraitGallery
Belfast Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Belfast Telegraph
‘We're growing as a business but it's disappointing that we don't have any work in Northern Ireland'
It remains one of Northern Ireland's most successful construction firms, with a raft of specialisms, including high-end arts and culture work with some of the highest-profile clients across the UK and Ireland. And while sales will remain relatively flat when the next set of accounts is published – turnover for the previous year ending December 2023 was £267m – its chief, Ray Hutchinson says profits are up. 'That's clearly very good news,' he tells Ulster Business. In accounts published after the Top 100 deadline, Gilbert-Ash saw pre-tax profits rising to £6.8m. Ray said while the wider sector continues to deal with challenges which have hit bottom lines in the last few years, profits are being 'restored to levels which we have seen in previous years'. 'We are not out of it all just yet… there is continuing volatility in the marketplace – the Middle East for example. Long-term contracts are now complete, and we are now into a phase of works where increased building costs have been properly captured.' The firm employs around 185 workers directly and continues to work on high-profile projects. That includes the recently-completed £30m National Portrait Gallery revamp – which was shortlisted for the Stirling Prize – along with an equally ambitious scheme at the Tate Liverpool. That will include works encompassing all areas of the building including galleries and public spaces, staff rooms, kitchens and plant spaces. 'We continue to perform very well in the arts and culture sector,' Ray says. It's also the main contractor for the Theatr Clwyd in Mold, north Wales, which will see the major redevelopment of the existing theatre including complete strip out to shell and core, refurbishment and remodelling of the existing buildings and the new build construction of a timber foyer extension to the front and carpentry workshop to the rear. 'Hospitality also remains important to us,' Ray says. 'We have hotel schemes, a couple in Dublin.' He says the firm has recently set up a new Ireland-registered company to deal with the increasing workload south of the border. That hotel work in the Republic includes two Premier Inns in Dublin. Gilbert-Ash was also the lead contractor to develop Ireland's first citizenM hotel: citizenM Dublin St Patrick's. 'The other key sector includes schools and student accommodation,' Ray says. That includes work to design and build the new 120 bed boarding house development at Winchester College. Works also includes landscaping to Kingsgate Park and installation of a new all-weather pitch. Ray says landmark schemes, such as the National Portrait Gallery, remain important to the firm. Looking ahead, he says the challenge is to 'continue to grow a sustainable pipeline of work'. 'We can see opportunity there and the opportunity for growth in Ireland, too. 'In 2024, we saw profits restored… in 2023 there was a downturn in profits, primarily down to challenging conditions in the marketplace, such as the war in Ukraine, increased energy costs, rising inflation, and materials. 'The long-term nature of a building contract – around three to four years – is a long time, and a lot can happen in the marketplace.' He says growth will take a 'double stranded approach' – with GB, and England in particular, being a focus. 'London and those [neighbouring] areas continue to provide opportunities,' he says. 'We foresee growth in [the Republic of Ireland]. As it stands we don't have any in Northern Ireland. 'It's certainly very disappointing. We are headquartered in Belfast and most staff are in Northern Ireland.' He said the type, nature and scale of the projects which Gilbert Ash works on 'aren't in this marketplace'. 'We had to look outside of Northern Ireland to do these types of projects… we will look at opportunities in Northern Ireland as they arise.'
New York Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
In Smithsonian Role, John Roberts Encounters History, Pandas and Trump
On June 9, the leadership of the Smithsonian gathered for a quarterly, but hardly routine, meeting behind closed doors. President Trump had already called out the Smithsonian for being part of a 'concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our nation's history' and announced he was firing the head of its National Portrait Gallery. Now the Smithsonian's board planned to discuss a response — a resolution carefully calibrated to avoid a confrontation with the president. The resolution would reinforce that only the Smithsonian had the power to fire its museum leader, but would also order a full review of Smithsonian content for bias. After the resolution had been introduced, Representative Carlos Gimenez of Florida, a Republican board member, interrupted, proposing instead that the board fire the gallery director, as Mr. Trump had sought. His effort was quickly shut down by the Smithsonian's chancellor — the chief justice of the Supreme Court, John G. Roberts Jr. 'We already have a motion on the floor,' Chief Justice Roberts said, according to three people with knowledge of the proceedings. The original resolution succeeded. The meeting quickly moved on. If the moment was unusually tense for a gathering of a museum board, the intervention by the chief justice, a committed parliamentarian, was not. As chancellor, he is known to preside over meetings with a strict focus on rules and procedures, assiduously avoiding partisan debates — a demeanor that aligns with his reputation as an institutionalist and incrementalist jurist. Since 1851, the chief justice of the Supreme Court has served as chancellor of the Smithsonian — a role that involves running the board meetings but also includes perks like getting an early look at the National Zoo's newborn pandas. For Chief Justice Roberts, though, the role recently has placed him in an unenviable position — helping to lead an institution in the crosshairs of President Trump. Mr. Trump's return to the White House has brought a flurry of policy changes — ending birthright citizenship, slashing federal agencies and ending protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants. As lower court judges blocked many of the policies, lawyers for Mr. Trump filed emergency petitions with the Supreme Court, asking the justices to weigh in. So far — at least on temporary emergency orders — the justices have handed Mr. Trump a string of victories, clearing the way for many of his proposals. Chief Justice Roberts's role as chancellor may never bring him into a direct confrontation with the president, but his leadership post offers a window into the delicate, potentially fraught dance between a president and a powerful jurist who is, by all accounts, smitten with the Smithsonian. 'All of a sudden it becomes a political battleground and I think that's disorienting for a lot of people, but if you're the chief justice it's got to be challenging for a lot of reasons,' said Jeremy Fogel, a retired federal judge who worked closely with the chief justice as director of the judiciary's educational and research center. 'I think he's well aware of the awkwardness.' A Longstanding Leadership Role The chief justice's guiding role at the Smithsonian goes back nearly as far as the institution itself. The Smithsonian, the world's largest museum, education and research complex, was created by Congress in 1846 after a British chemist and mineralogist left his fortune to create 'an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men' in the U.S. capital. Congress, which provides the lion's share of the Smithsonian's budget, turned over the responsibility for running the institution to a 17-member board, known as the Board of Regents, that includes the chief justice, the vice president, six members of Congress and nine citizens. At first, the vice president had served as chancellor, but in 1851, the role was taken over by then-Chief Justice Roger B. Taney — best known for writing the infamous Dred Scott decision that upheld slavery and fueled the Civil War. The chancellor position is largely ceremonial, and there is typically little overlap between the court and the institution aside from when the Smithsonian has featured exhibitions on topics that came before the court. When William H. Rehnquist was chief justice, the National Museum of American History presented an exhibit on the landmark school desegregation case of Brown v. Board of Education and he took the entire court to see it. But Chief Justice Roberts, who declined to comment on his Smithsonian position, is not the first leader of the court to be thrust into controversies over the institution's collections and place in American life. During the Civil War, the Board of Regents, led by Justice Taney, faced controversy over the museum's refusal to allow an abolitionist lecture series to use the Smithsonian auditorium, a cavernous space inside the famed castle-like building on the National Mall. The museum eventually agreed to host the series, but blocked Frederick Douglass, the leading African American abolitionist, from speaking. The Smithsonian's secretary, Lonnie G. Bunch III, who is the institution's chief executive and its first Black leader, reflected on the controversy at his 2019 installation ceremony. 'Today we are here speaking in a place as an African-American, where Frederick Douglass could not speak, but we are a different institution,' Mr. Bunch told those gathered, including Chief Justice Roberts. 'A Great Side Gig' When Chief Justice Roberts, a history buff, joined the high court in 2005, nominated by President George W. Bush, he seemed a natural fit for the Smithsonian. In speeches, the chief justice often tells an anecdote about how he had wanted to become a historian, but changed his mind after a taxi driver told him that he, too, had been a history major at Harvard. Leaders of the Smithsonian have praised Chief Justice Roberts for his steady leadership. 'He is really in control,' said David M. Rubenstein, the co-founder of the Carlyle Group private equity firm and a former Regent, during remarks in 2019. 'There are no 5-to-4 votes. Everything is unanimous. When the chief says this is what he wants done, we recognize that he has the ultimate authority.' Mr. Rubenstein added that the chief justice took his responsibilities 'very seriously,' and that 'he comes to every single meeting he's supposed to, runs the meeting, and could not be a better chancellor.' In public remarks, Chief Justice Roberts has appeared to relish the role and the perks that come with it, calling the post at one point a 'nice distraction.' In one speech, he said he found it 'liberating' when other board members didn't expect him to be an expert in the Smithsonian's sometimes arcane matters. 'It's also very valuable, you know, when a panda is born — because you get to go see it right away,' he added. At another appearance in 2022, the chief justice called his position at the Smithsonian a 'historical accident,' adding that it had 'resulted in some wonderful moments' for him. He described the excitement of touching the robes of the first chief justice, John Jay. 'The curator was not looking at the time, because you are not supposed to do that,' he joked. He cajoled the Smithsonian into loaning the court Louis Armstrong's trumpet so that the famed trumpeter Wynton Marsalis could play it at a court ceremony. 'The curator again was not too keen on the idea, but we got the trumpet for him, and it was such a joy to watch him play and to think of the history behind it,' Chief Justice Roberts said, adding that his role as chancellor was 'a great 'side-gig,' and I'm happy to have it.' When the Supreme Court itself becomes a focus of the Smithsonian's attention, the overlap in the chief justice's roles can become more awkward. In 2016, for example, when the National Museum of African American History and Culture opened to fanfare, Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first Black man to serve on the court, was featured in an exhibit. But Justice Clarence Thomas, the court's second Black jurist, was only mentioned in a display that reported Anita Hill's accusations that he had sexually harassed her. Several conservative lawmakers accused the Smithsonian of bias. Justice Roberts never commented publicly on the controversy, and it is unclear if he played a role in easing tensions. The Board of Regents discussed the matter at a January 2017 meeting, where they were told the museum had arranged for curators to speak with members of Congress and their staffs, and that senior Smithsonian staff had met with lawmakers. But the meeting minutes show that the chief justice did not come to the meeting until later in the day, per usual. Though it left up the Hill display, the museum later in 2017 quietly added a display that recognized Justice Thomas in the exhibit that featured Justice Marshall. In the display, Justice Thomas, who has denied Ms. Hill's account, was pictured as a college student and on the cover of Jet Magazine. A President With a Smithsonian Agenda An incident shortly after Mr. Trump's first election in 2016 helped to fuel the White House's recent interest in the leadership of the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. Julian Raven, an artist and ardent Trump supporter, asked the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery to display his 2015 acrylic painting of Mr. Trump — 'Unafraid and Unashamed,' which showed Mr. Trump next to a rising sun with a bald eagle — during the inauguration. After the museum refused to exhibit his portrait, Mr. Raven sued. He focused in particular on Kim Sajet, the head of the gallery and the first woman to run it, accusing her of political bias against Mr. Trump. Federal District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, a Trump appointee, appeared sympathetic to Mr. Raven, who represented himself. The judge noted in his 2018 ruling that the regents include members of the executive, legislative and judicial branches, and compared the governance model to Cerberus, the monstrous, three-headed dog from Greek mythology who guards the gates of the underworld. But the judge ultimately dismissed the lawsuit. 'Mr. Raven claims that the decision was motivated by political bias, violating his rights under the First and Fifth Amendments,' Judge McFadden wrote. 'He may be right about the motivation, but he is wrong about the law.' In November 2019, Mr. Raven asked the Supreme Court to take his case. About two months later, the justices rejected the matter with a notation that the chief justice had recused himself. When Mr. Trump returned to office earlier this year, he released a flurry of executive orders, including one in March that focused on the Smithsonian, which relies heavily on federal funds. In the last decade, Mr. Trump declared, the country had 'witnessed a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our nation's history.' He argued that the Smithsonian had 'in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology.' What is more, the White House communications director, Steven Cheung, directly criticized the leadership of Mr. Bunch, characterizing him as a liar, a failure and a partisan Democrat. In the midst of such rhetoric, several supporters of Mr. Bunch said they hoped that the chief justice's role at the heart of the Smithsonian's operations might temper or avert a full-fledged attack on the institution. Former Senator Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat and a longtime Regent who stepped down in 2023, said he viewed the chief justice as a man who believed in the Smithsonian's mission and independence. 'He is not anyone who is going to be pushed around by anybody,' he said. The White House did not respond to a request for comment for this article. Two months after the executive order, on May 30, Mr. Trump took to social media to announce that he had fired the museum director, Ms. Sajet, calling her 'a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI, which is totally inappropriate for her position.' It is not clear exactly what led to the announcement, but the White House released a long list of bullet-points that it said bolstered the president's claims. The list included donations to Democrats, the dispute over Mr. Raven's painting and language from a photo caption of Mr. Trump that included a reference to his impeachments. Mr. Trump had cited no legal authority for the firing, and the Smithsonian did not follow through on it. Ms. Sajet continued to report to work, though two weeks later she said she had voluntarily chosen to step down. In announcing her move, she seemed to reflect on her efforts to broaden the museum's perspective. 'Together,' she wrote, 'we have worked to tell a fuller, more American story — one that fosters connection, reflection and understanding.' Experts who are closely watching the Smithsonian say Ms. Sajet's resignation is unlikely to end the Trump administration's focus on the institution and the pressure it puts on the Board of Regents, with the chief justice at the fore. Only last week, the Trump administration expressed satisfaction when an artist, Amy Sherald, canceled a Smithsonian exhibition because she believed the institution, fearing the president, intended to remove her painting of a transgender Statue of Liberty. A White House official described the work as an effort 'to reinterpret one of our nation's most sacred symbols through a divisive and ideological lens.' In his executive order, Mr. Trump also asked Vice President JD Vance, a Smithsonian board member, to help ensure that as terms of regents expired, his administration was in a position to appoint citizen members aligned with his values. Representative Gimenez, a newly appointed regent who, like Mr. Vance, has promoted Mr. Trump's viewpoint to other Smithsonian leaders, did not respond to a request for comment. Not all of Mr. Trump's focus on the Smithsonian has been critical. He helped secure a deal with Saudi Arabia to bring two rare Arabian leopards to the National Zoo. The regents voted to approve that cat exhibit at its June 9 meeting, contingent on a $50 million gift from Saudi Arabia. Judge Fogel said he thought the chief justice viewed his Smithsonian role as 'mind-expanding and enjoyable,' and would be likely to recuse himself from any Smithsonian-related matter that might lead to litigation. Until recently, Judge Fogel said, 'I don't think it's been a place that's politically fraught in the sense that the administration is demanding that somebody be fired. That's happened to a lot of institutions — the Library of Congress, the Holocaust Museum, the Kennedy Center — places that have been above 'big P' politics. I think that puts people who saw it as a national service in an awkward position.' Samuel J. Redman, a history professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who has written extensively about the Smithsonian, described this moment as unprecedented. 'We have never encountered a political assault — a direct frontal assault on the Smithsonian in this way,' he said. 'Therefore, the Board of Regents has become more important politically than it has in any previous moment.' That puts increased pressure on the chief justice, he said. 'The chief justice has a really interesting aspect in this new political moment in the U.S.,' he said. In the past, 'different justices have mostly been a figurehead — no longer.' Julie Tate and Kitty Bennett contributed research.
Black America Web
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Black America Web
Obama Portrait Artist Cancels Smithsonian Show Over Censorship
Source: Noam Galai / Getty Artist Amy Sherald, renowned for her portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama, has canceled her American Sublime exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, citing censorship concerns. The controversy centers on her painting Trans Forming Liberty , which depicts the Statue of Liberty modeled after a transgender artist. Smithsonian officials reportedly raised concerns about the painting, fearing it might offend President Donald Trump and his supporters. As reported by CNN, Sherald was set to become the first contemporary Black artist to have a solo exhibition at the gallery. However, she withdrew after discussions about removing the painting or replacing it with a video contextualizing transgender issues. In a statement, she expressed disappointment, saying, 'I entered into this collaboration in good faith… Unfortunately, it has become clear that the conditions no longer support the integrity of the work as conceived.' RELATED: National Portrait Gallery Unveils Obama Portraits The Smithsonian's decision comes amid a politically charged climate. President Trump, in his second term, has targeted institutions like the Smithsonian, accusing them of promoting divisive ideologies. His administration has rolled back transgender rights and pressured cultural institutions to align with his directives. Earlier this year, Kim Sajet, the National Portrait Gallery's director, resigned following Trump's criticism of her leadership. Sherald's American Sublime exhibition, which has already toured San Francisco and New York, features vibrant portraits of Black life and American identity. Trans Forming Liberty , painted in 2024, holds space for transgender individuals whose humanity has been politicized. Sherald stated, 'At a time when transgender people are being legislated against, silenced, and endangered… silence is not an option.' This cancellation underscores the challenges artists face in navigating the intersection of art, politics, and social justice. Sherald's decision to withdraw her show highlights her commitment to integrity and advocacy. While the Smithsonian expressed disappointment, Sherald's work continues to inspire, sparking critical conversations about representation and freedom of expression. Her stand serves as a powerful reminder of art's role in challenging societal norms and championing marginalized voices. SEE ALSO Obama Portrait Artist Cancels Smithsonian Show Over Censorship was originally published on
Fox News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Michelle Obama portraitist's exhibit with trans Statue of Liberty pulled after pressure from Vance
EXCLUSIVE: Artist Amy Sherald canceled her upcoming exhibit featuring a portrait of a transgender Statue of Liberty at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery after Vice President JD Vance raised concerns the show included woke and divisive content, Fox News Digital has learned. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March that placed Vance in charge of overseeing the removal of programs or exhibits at Smithsonian museums that "degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy." Vance said Sherald's "American Sublime" exhibit violated Trump's executive order and was an example of woke and divisive content during a meeting June 9 with the Board of Regents, a source familiar with the meeting told Fox News Digital. "Vice President Vance has been leading the effort to eliminate woke indoctrination from our beloved Smithsonian museums," an administration official said in an email to Fox News Digital. "On top of shepherding the One Big Beautiful Bill through the Senate and helping President Trump navigate international crises, the vice president has demonstrated his ability to get President Trump's priorities across the finish line." Sherald, best known for painting former first lady Michelle Obama's official portrait in 2018, announced Thursday she was pulling her show, "American Sublime," from the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery slated for September, The New York Times first reported. Sherald said she was rescinding her work from the exhibition after being told that the National Portrait Gallery had some concerns about featuring the portrait of the transgender Statue of Liberty during the show. The painting, "Trans Forming Liberty," depicts a trans woman with pink hair wearing a blue gown. "These concerns led to discussions about removing the work from the exhibition," Sherald said in a statement, The New York Times first reported Thursday. "While no single person is to blame, it's clear that institutional fear shaped by a broader climate of political hostility toward trans lives played a role. "This painting exists to hold space for someone whose humanity has been politicized and disregarded. I cannot in good conscience comply with a culture of censorship, especially when it targets vulnerable communities. "At a time when transgender people are being legislated against, silenced and endangered across our nation, silence is not an option," Sherald added. "I stand by my work. I stand by my sitters. I stand by the truth that all people deserve to be seen — not only in life, but in art." The Smithsonian did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Vance's involvement in the matter. The White House said the removal of Sherald's exhibit is a "principled and necessary step" toward cultivating unity at institutions like the Smithsonian. "The 'Trans Forming Liberty' painting, which sought to reinterpret one of our nation's most sacred symbols through a divisive and ideological lens, fundamentally strayed from the mission and spirit of our national museums," Trump special assistant Lindsey Halligan said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "The Statue of Liberty is not an abstract canvas for political expression. It is a revered and solemn symbol of freedom, inspiration and national unity that defines the American spirit." Other members of the Smithsonian's Board of Regents include the Chief Justice of the United States, John Roberts, along with senators John Boozman, R-Ark.; Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.; and Gary Peters, D-Mich., along with several other House members.
West Australian
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- West Australian
Romance comes of age, with portrait of fashion pioneers
A massive artwork marking 20 years of the Australian fashion label Romance Was Born has been unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery. Designers Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales chose their longtime friend and collaborator Samuel Hodge to create a portrait of them to mark the occasion - and the resulting collage is as extravagant as one of their label's runway shows. "When you take as many photographs as I have, it's really difficult to make sense of it all - so one way to do this is just put it all together," Hodge said. The artist has combined hundreds of images of the designers taken over decades, incorporating brushstrokes of colour across four framed panels, all mounted over a specially made wallpaper. The artwork, which measures 4.5 metres across, was unveiled at the gallery in Canberra Friday night. It's the biggest framed work Hodge has ever created, and reminds him of the over-the-top approach that Plunkett and Sales' take to their runway shows, which have been known to feature everything from snow machines to giant lunar sculptures. "It's so much more than they even need to do, but they can't help themselves, and I think weirdly that's washed off on me, especially with the production of this work," he said. As well as being coveted fashion items, Romance Was Born designs are held in the collections of prestigious art institutions, and have been shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Plunkett and Sales have dressed the likes of Bjork, Caroline Kennedy, Cate Blanchett, Nicki Minaj and Miley Cyrus, and collaborated with artists such as Linda Jackson, Jenny Kee, Del Kathryn Barton and Ken Done. Standing in front of the portrait for the first time, the renowned designers both seem a little overwhelmed, partly due to its proximity to famous portraits of household names, such as Howard Arkley's painting of singer Nick Cave. "It feels like a very iconic moment for us to be put next to these people who we really admire and have always looked up to," Plunkett said. "When you're just young and starting out making stuff, I never thought that in 20 years I'd have a portrait at the gallery next to Nick Cave." For Sales, who says the artwork is "awesome", each of the snapshots in the collage brings back forgotten memories of designs, collections, models, photo shoots and runway shows. "It's very nostalgic and it's been emotional and overwhelming, I'm still kind of processing what it all means," he said. Hodge received the portrait commission in January, and spent months selecting photographs, painting onto them, scanning, reprinting, hand-cutting and gluing them. His printer was shocked when he turned up wanting to print about 1000 images for the artwork, requiring about 30 square metres of paper. Despite his experimental methodology, Hodge was always confident the finished product would work - after so many years collaborating with the designers, he knows what they like. The portrait will be on view at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra from Saturday.
