Simmie Knox
American, b. 1935

Portrait of Richard Hunt
1985
Oil on canvas

A portrait of Richard Hunt with his sculpture Arching (1985). Simmie Knox was born to sharecroppers in segregated Alabama. His skill as a portrait artist made him sought after by Black elites and Washington officials. President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton commissioned Knox for their official White House portraits after the suggestion of Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The commission made Knox the first Black artist to paint the official portraits of the president and first lady of the United States.

Collection of BK Fulton and Jaqueline Stone

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