U.S. State Department eyes sale of Kehinde Wiley painting

The U.S. State Department is considering the sale of Kehinde Wiley’s 2013 painting, ‘Young Artists After Siamesas 1960’, following its removal from the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic. The artwork, which features four Dominican models, was recently replaced by an image of the American flag.

Leah Campos, the U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, stated the change reflects a move away from “globalist and woke ideologies.” Erin Scavino, Director of Art in Embassies, described the piece as “very woke” and “aesthetically terrifying.”

A State Department spokeswoman defended the decision by citing a 2023 interview in which Wiley referred to a different painting as a “play on the ‘kill whitey’ thing,” as well as mentioning sexual assault allegations against the artist, which Wiley has denied. The department stated that works containing “violent and racist words and depictions” have no place in the current administration’s State Department.