Kehinde Wiley Asks Trump to Let Him Buy Back Embassy Painting

Kehinde Wiley has asked President Donald Trump for the chance to buy back his painting Young Artists After Siamesas 1960 (2013), which the US State Department removed from the American Embassy in the Dominican Republic in August.

Sean Kelly Gallery, which represents Wiley, shared the artist's letter to Trump on Monday. Wiley dated the letter September 24.

"I am writing regarding Young Artists After Siamesas 1960, the painting I created for the United States Embassy in Santo Domingo through the State Department's Art in Embassies program," Wiley writes. "I understand that the painting has been removed from the embassy and that the State Department is now considering whether it can be sold. If your administration has determined that it no longer wishes to display the work, I would like to ask for the opportunity to purchase it back."

The painting depicts four Dominican art students. Wiley writes that he created the work for a "particular place and with a particular purpose," after studying the work of Dominican artists and collaborating with young artists in Santo Domingo.

"The idea was a simple one: that an American embassy could be a place where people see something of themselves, and that art could create a connection between our country and theirs," Wiley writes. "That has long been my understanding of the purpose of the Art in Embassies program and of the role that artists can play in cultural diplomacy."

The removal came to public attention on August 11, when US Ambassador Leah Campos announced on Instagram that Wiley's painting was being replaced with an image of the American flag reflecting, in her words, "American patriotism and the beauty of our great country." The post was set to the Twisted Sister song "We're Not Gonna Take It."

Campos stated in the post that the "Trump Administration and under my leadership we are turning away from globalist and woke ideologies."

In his letter, Wiley acknowledges the political shift behind the decision. He writes that he understands the current "administration has reached a different conclusion about this painting and no longer believes it belongs in the embassy."

"However the painting remains important to me, as do the people and the ideas that it represents," Wiley writes. "If your administration no longer has a place for it, I would be grateful for the opportunity to bring it home and I am prepared to purchase the work through the appropriate lawful process."

The State Department has not yet indicated publicly whether it will accept the offer, leaving the fate of the painting — and the precedent for other works commissioned under the Art in Embassies program — undecided.