The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 22, 2026

A vertically oriented screenprint depicts a centered figure with dark skin rendered in flat gray tones. Against a solid mint green background, the person stands with arms at their sides, wearing a red tunic featuring a stylized off-white bird and curved shape. Their short hair is cropped close, and their neutral expression is defined by closed lips. The composition is minimalist, employing smooth lines and a bold, limited color palette.

Hope Is the Thing with Feathers (The Little Bird)

2021

Amy Sherald

(American, b. 1973)
printer

Powerhouse Print Shop

printer

Luther Davis

(American)
publisher

Hauser & Wirth, Inc.

color screenprint
Sheet: 104.8 x 94 cm (41 1/4 x 37 in.)
Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund 2021.173
© Amy Sherald
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The title of this print references an 1891 verse by American poet Emily Dickinson.

Description

Amy Sherald is known for her distinctive style of portraiture that presents Black figures with grisaille (or gray) skin tones, inviting consideration of skin as a signifier. This print, the second made by the artist, reinterprets a painting of the same title. Both depict dancers from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, founded in 1958 to combine modern dance and African American culture. The subject appears with a casual pose and assertive gaze that align with the artist’s goal, in her words, to “paint black people just being people.”
  • 2021
    (Hauser & Wirth, New York, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2021-
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Women in Print: Recent Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 16-June 19, 2022).
  • {{cite web|title=Hope Is the Thing with Feathers (The Little Bird)|url=false|author=Amy Sherald, Powerhouse Print Shop, Luther Davis, Hauser & Wirth, Inc.|year=2021|access-date=22 April 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2021.173