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Open · Until 24 Jan 2027

The Gift: Emma Amos with Friends

Emma Amos, The Gift, 1990–94 (front cover sitters: Moira Roth, bell hooks, Mira Schor, Lucy Lippard, Faith Ringgold, Emma Amos)

The Gift, 1990–94. Emma Amos (American, 1937–2020). 48 watercolor portraits; overall: 274.3 x 640.1 cm (108 x 252 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 2023.126. © Emma Amos; Courtesy of RYAN LEE Gallery, New York · approved press images, supplied via press office 20 Oct 2026

The Gift: Emma Amos with Friends is on view at Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, United States, until January 24, 2027.

Last verified October 25, 2026 · Official source ↗

Built around The Gift (1990–94), Emma Amos's suite of 48 watercolor portraits painted from life of the women artists, writers and curators in her intergenerational circle, among them Elizabeth Catlett, bell hooks, Lucy R. Lippard, Howardena Pindell, Faith Ringgold, Lorna Simpson and Kay WalkingStick. Made as a birthday present for her daughter India and recently acquired by the CMA, the series is shown for the first time in years, alongside earlier Amos portraits, a selection of her other work, and her notebooks, manuscripts and film footage of The Gift in the making. A catalogue developed from a book proposal Amos drafted but never published accompanies the show.

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Artists

Venue

  1. Cleveland Museum of Art
    Cleveland, United States · September 13, 2026 – January 24, 2027
    Until 24 Jan 2027

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Images

Six of Emma Amos watercolor portraits from The Gift arranged in a two-row grid

Emma Amos, The Gift, 1990–94 (front cover sitters: Moira Roth, bell hooks, Mira Schor, Lucy Lippard, Faith Ringgold, Emma Amos)

The Gift, 1990–94. Emma Amos (American, 1937–2020). 48 watercolor portraits; overall: 274.3 x 640.1 cm (108 x 252 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 2023.126. © Emma Amos; Courtesy of RYAN LEE Gallery, New York · approved press images, supplied via press office 20 Oct 2026 · Source ↗

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