Tyler Mitchell's historic Beyoncé portrait for Vogue heads to the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
Tyler Mitchell broke barriers when he shot Beyoncé's Vogue cover last year for the magazine's September issue, becoming the first African-American photographer to shoot a cover of Vogue in the fashion magazine's storied 125-year history.
Now, one of the 24-year-old's portraits of the star 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.
“We are delighted to acquire this magnificent portrait of Beyoncé," associate curator of photographs, Leslie Ureña, who worked on the acquisition, told ABC News.
Mitchell, who was picked by Beyoncé for this shoot, photographed the Grammy winner in the English countryside and in the extended captions of her Vogue cover, Beyoncé reflected on the historic portraits and the photographer behind the lens.
"Until there is a mosaic of perspectives coming from different ethnicities behind the lens, we will continue to have a narrow approach and view of what the world actually looks like. That is why I wanted to work with this brilliant 23-year-old photographer Tyler Mitchell," she wrote.
"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. 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," she continued.
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.
Beyonce said it was important to her to "help open doors for younger artists."
"There are so many cultural and societal barriers to entry that I like to do what I can to level the playing field, to present a different point of view for people who may feel like their voices don’t matter," she told Vogue.
There is currently a famous poster of Beyoncé on display at the National Portrait Gallery, but the original portrait of Queen Bey now joins the ranks of Ella Fitzgerald and Aretha Franklin in the gallery's collection celebrating music and the arts.
“For so long, black people have been considered things,” Mitchell told Vogue last year, reflecting on his work. “We’ve been thingified physically, sexually, emotionally. With my work I’m looking to revitalize and elevate the black body.”
ABC News has reached out to Mitchell and Vogue magazine for further comment.
