In celebration of Women’s Week, a new exhibition will feature eight portraits from alumni Stephen Coit ’71 and Robert Shetterly ’69. “Seeing Each Other: A Conversation Between the Harvard Foundation Portraiture Project and Americans Who Tell the Truth,” opens to all on March 3 at Cabot House.
“This event marks a historic moment for the Harvard Foundation’s Portraiture Project, as it brings our portraits into conversation with a selection external to the project for the very first time,” said Habiba Braimah, senior director of the Harvard Foundation. “The dialogue between the Harvard Foundation’s Portraiture Project and ‘Americans Who Tell the Truth’ comes at a critical moment, reinforcing the need to see, hear, and uplift underrepresented voices.”
The five-day exhibition will open with a reception where visitors can meet the artists and learn about the portraits from student docents. Coit and Shetterly will also be in conversation with Brenda Tindal, FAS chief campus curator.
Shetterly will bring four portraits from his project, “Americans Who Tell the Truth,” a series of paintings and narratives of courageous citizens for collaborative educational experiences. Attendees will have a chance to view Shetterly’s newest portrait of Howard University law professor Sherrilyn Ifill. The civil rights lawyer recently served as the Steven and Maureen Klinsky Visiting Professor of Practice for Leadership and Progress at Harvard Law School.
Other portrait subjects include W.E.B. Du Bois, Pauli Murray, Regina Jackson, Chloe Maxmin, Rulan Pian, Rosa Rios, Eileen Southern, and S. Allen Counter, the first director of the Harvard Foundation. It will be the first time all four Harvard Foundation Portraiture Project art pieces will be showcased together.
“We are honored to provide a space where these portraits and the stories they carry remind us of the transformative power of art and encourage reflection on the role of representation in driving meaningful change,” Braimah added.
Harvard affiliates and the general public will have another opportunity to meet with Shetterly on March 4 for an informal “OFA ArtsBites” luncheon to discuss his artwork and painting process. The lunch, which is capped at 20 attendees, will be held at Cabot House, Senior Common Room, 60 Linnaean St. Register online for OFA ArtsBites.
“Seeing Each Other” is a collaboration between the Office for the Arts, the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural + Race Relations, and the Harvard College Women’s Center, with the support of the Harvard Art Museums. The opening reception will be held at Cabot House on March 3 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. A closing reception with cookies and lemonade will be held on March 7 at Cabot House from 3 to 4 p.m. It is free and open to the public.
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