Nigerian-American artist Kehinde Wiley has formally requested to buy back his 2013 painting after it was removed from the United States Embassy in the Dominican Republic.
The artwork, titled Young Artists After Siamesas 1960, was originally commissioned under the US State Department’s Art in Embassies program. However, it was taken down following objections from Leah Campos, the US Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, and criticism from program officials.
In response to the removal, Wiley, who painted former US President Barack Obama’s official portrait, wrote a letter to President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and embassy officials requesting that the piece be repurchased. Wiley expressed sadness over the controversy, explaining that the painting depicts local art students surrounded by flowers and was created to build cultural connections between nations.
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