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Tyler Mitchell for VogueWhen Tyler Mitchell shot Beyoncé‘s Vogue cover last year for the magazine’s September issue, he became the first African-American photographer in Vogue’s 125-year history to do a cover for the publiciation. Now, one of the Vogue portraits Mitchell shot of Beyoncé will be on permanent display at the Smithsonian in the nation’s capital.
“A year ago today we broke the flood gates open. Now I’m glad to share this picture is being acquired into the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection,” Mitchell tweeted on Tuesday, along with his portrait of a majestic Beyoncé in a gold dress and gold headpiece leaning over a bouquet of flowers.
A spokeswoman for the the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., confirmed to ABC News that the portrait will soon be in the museum’s permanent collection.
Mitchell, who was chosen by Beyoncé for this shoot, photographed the superstar in the English countryside. In the extended captions of the Vogue spread, she reflected on the historic nature of the pictures.
“When I first started, 21 years ago, I was told that it was hard for me to get onto covers of magazines because black people did not sell,” Bey wrote. “Clearly that has been proven a myth. Not only is an African-American on the cover of the most important month for Vogue, this is the first ever Vogue cover shot by an African-American photographer.”
“It’s important to me that I help open doors for younger artists,” she added.
Mitchell, who was also one of the youngest photographers to shoot a Vogue cover, has worked on several projects for Vogue since last year, including shooting the Vogue June 2019 cover of actress and singer Zendaya.
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