American Sublime is the Whitney’s new survey exhibition of the work of Amy Sherald (b. 1973), who soared into the stratosphere of art-world fame in 2018, thanks to her official portrait of Michelle Obama, but she has so much more to offer. She’s a master of the imaginary, or fantasy, portrait — close-up paintings of people that aren’t entirely portrait likenesses. We can’t say “that’s Grandma,” whom we know and love, or “that’s King Charles,” instantly recognizable, but the portraits still have the look of real people. They’re not generic, like the Gerber Baby. It’s a niche genre that merges fiction and flat art.
Dutch Golden Age artists dabbled in imaginary portraits. We call theirs tronie pictures — “tronie” is an old Dutch word meaning “face” — and they convey, mostly, exaggerated expressions and working-class types and, often, proverbs. Later, Fragonard excelled in fantasy portraits, depicting not ideal beauties or matinée idols but men and women with physical flaws that many of us have. Through dress, pose, or props, these people are types, though larger than life.
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