> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://hyperallergic.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Smithsonian Institution Postpones Prestigious Portrait Exhibition - URL: https://hyperallergic.com/smithsonian-institution-postpones-prestigious-outwin-portrait-competition-exhibition/ - Published: 2025-10-09T20:57:38.000Z - Updated: 2025-11-24T15:11:29.000Z - Description: The National Portrait Gallery said it decided to “proactively postpone” the Outwin Competition show ahead of a prolonged government shutdown. - Author: Isa Farfan - Tags: News, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-large, #Import 2025-11-24 09:41 (2025) The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) has postponed the opening of an exhibition for its triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition as the Smithsonian Institution prepares to run out of federal funding in the case of a prolonged [government shutdown](https://hyperallergic.com/how-will-the-us-government-shutdown-impact-museums/). *The* *Outwin 2025: American Portraiture Today* exhibition was expected to open next Saturday, October 18, and remain on view through August 30, 2026\. Artists received notice of the exhibition's postponement in an October 7 letter shared with *Hyperallergic*. “We will announce a rescheduled date for the opening events and of the exhibition following the resolution of lapsed funding,” said the letter from Elliot Gruber, NPG’s acting director. Gruber replaced longtime leader Kim Sajet, [who resigned](https://hyperallergic.com/national-portrait-gallery-director-quits-after-trump-firing/) in June after Trump accused her of being partisan on his Truth Social account. A spokesperson for the museum told *Hyperallergic* that it decided to “proactively postpone” the opening to give artists and participants time to refund travel and hotel plans in the case of delays. "Depending on if the museum does have to shut down or not, we may need more time to complete the installation that is currently underway. We will determine a new opening date once we reopen if we find ourselves in that situation,” the spokesperson for the NPG said. The postponement comes amid a continuing government shutdown and after months of [intense public scrutiny](https://hyperallergic.com/trump-whitewashes-history-in-new-smithsonian-executive-order/) of the Smithsonian by the Trump administration. The institution said last week that it has enough funding from private trusts and prior-year federal allocations to keep its 21 museums and zoo open through this Saturday, October 11. The Outwin Competition draws thousands of submissions from across the country for a chance at a commission from the NPG. Artists over 18 years of age living in the United States and territories, including Puerto Rico, Guam, and American Samoa, are invited to submit a recent portrait to a panel of judges. First-place winners receive a $25,000 prize and a chance to create a portrait of a "remarkable living American" for the museum. Smaller cash prizes are given to second- and third-place winners. This year's finalists are [David Antonio Cruz](https://www.cruzantoniodavid.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com), [Kameron Neal](https://www.kameronneal.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com), and [Jared Soares](https://jaredsoares.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com). The order of the winners was expected to be announced at the time of the exhibition's opening. Previous Outwin prizewinners have included presidential portraitist [Amy Sherald](https://hyperallergic.com/amy-sherald-trans-lady-liberty-painting-graces-new-yorker-cover/) and illustrator [Hugo Crosthwaite](https://hyperallergic.com/hugo-crosthwaite-artist-whose-fauci-portraits-enraged-the-white-house/). Works by both Sherald, who became the first woman and first African-American person to win the award in 2016, and Crosthwaite, the first Latino to win the prize in 2019, were targeted by the Trump administration in a White House [memo](https://hyperallergic.com/trump-targets-lgbtq-history-migrants-and-more-in-chilling-smithsonian-hit-list/) this summer. “Exhibitions like the one at the National Portrait Gallery are essential for the artistic ecosystem,” participating artist Edra Soto told *Hyperallergic* in a statement. “Their democratic and open call approach remains one of the most respected ways to present art …. The postponed or temporary closure of the exhibition further highlights our current fragile state.” The government shutdown entered its ninth day on October 9 as a Republican party-backed measure failed in the Senate for the [seventh time](https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/government-shutdown-2025-latest-senate-votes-trump/?ref=hyperallergic.com). The[ National Gallery of Art has shuttered](https://hyperallergic.com/national-gallery-of-art-closes-amid-government-shutdown/) in response to a lack of funding, and [National Park sites across the country](https://hyperallergic.com/how-will-the-us-government-shutdown-impact-museums/) are also closed.