Overview

• Shawn Michael Warren, a Chicago-based artist, has unveiled a newly commissioned portrait of Oprah Winfrey at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.
• The portrait depicts Winfrey in her prayer garden at her Montecito, California, home, wearing a purple dress and holding an olive branch.
• Winfrey personally chose Warren for the commission, following his mural of her in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood, where her talk show was based for 25 years.
• The color purple has been seminal in Winfrey's life, serving as a foundation for her future after her role in Steven Spielberg’s film adaptation of The Color Purple.
• The portrait is now on public display at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.