National Portrait Gallery Washington acquires work by LJ Roberts

Hales is delighted to announce LJ Roberts's large-scale installation, Stormé at Stonewall, has been acquired by the National Portrait Gallery Washington. The piece was originally commissioned in 2019 by the Brooklyn Museum for the exhibition Nobody Promised You Tomorrow: Art 50 Years After Stonewall. Composed of 14 collaged light boxes, the piece highlights Stormé DeLaverie who was alleged to have been a critical instigator in the Stonewall Uprising. Her role in queer and trans liberation extended far beyond Stonewall.

The light boxes transform differing New York Times accounts of the Stonewall Riots into original prose, which is juxtaposed with images from DeLarverie's performances and life, as well as queered architectural environs from the West Village.' Stormé at Stonewall' presents a poetic and visual document that acknowledges DeLarvarie's (in)visibility while honoring her remarkable legacy.