Unveiling: Portrait of Fred Gray from American Art Collector Magazine
Last year, Michael Shane Neal’s portrait of legendary civil rights attorney Fred Gray was unveiled in Tuskegee, Alabama. The portrait was commissioned by a group of donors, known as the Friends of Fred Gray, who gathered for the presentation at the Tuskegee Human and Civil Rights Multicultural Center. For the donors, the painting was a realization of a long-held dream, but they had even greater aspirations—hoping the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. would include the portrait in its collection.
The mission of the National Portrait Gallery is straightforward: To tell the story of America by portraying the people who shape the nation’s history, development and culture. When the Friends of Fred Gray learned that there was no portrait of attorney Gray in the collection, they knew they had to take action. They believed it was important for Gray’s image to be included in the gallery to educate future generations on the work he has done for the Civil Rights Movement over his lifetime.
A native of Montgomery, Alabama, Gray is a nationally recognized civil rights attorney, celebrated lecturer, author and former legislator. With a legal career spanning over half a century, Gray’s landmark cases can be found in most constitutional law textbooks. Among many other cases, he represented Rosa Parks, who was arrested because she refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man, igniting the Montgomery bus boycott. Gray was also Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s first civil rights attorney, and he represented the victims of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study.
Having recently painted Gray’s longtime friend, Congressman John Lewis, Neal was asked by the Friends of Fred Gray to create his portrait. Neal began his research by reading Gray’s book, Bus Ride to Justice: The Life and Works of Fred Gray. Neal said he was “blown away by Gray’s lifelong commitment to destroy, through the legal system, ‘everything that was segregated.’”
During his drive to Tuskegee for his initial meeting with Gray, Neal was somewhat disheartened by the unfavorable weather. It was a gray, wet day, and, as with any artist, Neal is passionate about the quality of light. When he arrived, the two sat and talked about the lawyer’s life and work. “Something I will never forget,” Neal says, “are the stories he related about courtroom appearances where, when he would begin his arguments in defense of his clients arrested during the Civil Rights Movement, the judges would turn their chairs and face the back wall, leaving Gray to argue his case to the backs of their heads. Attorney Gray said to me, ‘While my friends and colleagues were marching in the streets, I was marching up the steps of courthouses throughout the South, in an effort to defend them through the legal system.’”
“Having heard the stories about the incredible challenges he had faced, it seemed as though the overcast, gloomy day fit the mood of many of his life’s obstacles,” continues Neal. “As he posed with some of his legal books, I was not quite finding what I was looking for. Suddenly, as I was repositioning myself in the room to try a different point of view, the clouds parted and sunlight began to stream through the windows. A large shaft of light struck him, and it hit me that this is exactly what Fred Gray has been doing all his life: he had been trying to bring light to darkness. I knew at that moment that that passage of light would be an integral part of my composition.”
This past April, the Friends of Fred Gray reached their goal. The portrait was accepted by the National Portrait Gallery, having been unanimously voted for inclusion in the permanent collection. On January 26, 2025, the gallery will host A Day of Action, honoring the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and his commitment to community action. To recognize the acquisition of the portrait, Gray and Neal will be in conversation at the event, telling the remarkable story of Gray’s life mission and legal achievements.
Unveiling spotlights a recently completed portrait commission or figurative work from some of the best and most active members of the Portrait Society of America. This month, Becka Darling, guest writer for the Portrait Society, interviewed Michael Shane Neal about his portrait commission of attorney Fred Gray.
