State Department Removes Wiley Painting From Dominican Republic Embassy

The U.S. Department of State has removed a commissioned painting by renowned artist Kehinde Wiley from the American embassy in the Dominican Republic and is exploring whether it can legally sell the artwork. The removal, which took place earlier in August 2026, has drawn attention due to the artist’s connection to former President Barack Obama and the department’s stated reasons for taking the piece down.

The painting, titled Young Artists After Siamesas 1960, was removed from the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo. U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic Leah Campos posted a video of the artwork being taken down and replaced with an American flag on her Instagram account on August 11, 2026. In the caption, she wrote that the Trump Administration is “turning away from globalist and woke ideologies” and embracing “American patriotism and the beauty of our great country.”

In a statement provided on August 25, 2026, a State Department spokeswoman explained the department’s position. The statement did not address the content of the removed painting directly. Instead, it criticized comments Wiley made in 2023 about a different artwork, his painting Judith and Holofernes, which he...