I went over to the National Portrait Gallery this week to see a portrait of Althea Gibson that had been newly hung on the "Recognize" wall. The museum had taken a poll of visitors to see which athlete they wanted to see, and Gibson won. I wasn't exactly certain where the "Recognize" wall was, but I was certain I'd be able to find it.
After walking around the Gallery for quite a while, I finally asked the people at the information desk what was up - turns out the "Recognize" wall is the same as the "In Memoriam" wall. After hanging for about 4 hours, Gibson's portrait was taken down to make way for one of Muhammad Ali. No word on when Ali will come down and Gibson go back up. And frankly, the way this year is going for famous people, Gibson may have to wait a while.
The Ali portrait is the one that was on display in the Yousuf Karsh show from 2014. See my review of the portrait here.
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