This Juneteenth, we’re sitting with a painting that asks what freedom really looks like. In “For Love, and for Country,” Amy Sherald directly references Alfred Eisenstaedt’s “V-J Day in Times Square,” the famed photograph of a US Sailor kissing a woman in celebration of the end of World War II. Instead, Sherald re-envisions the work with two Black male sailors sharing a passionate kiss. Through her paintings, Sherald often refers to the historical omission of Black people in American portraiture. Choosing to recreate the image in vibrant and powerful force, she re-contextualizes the narrative to one rooted in themes of freedom, queer-joy, and belonging. The artist describes her paintings as a resting place, inviting viewers to engage in more expansive thinking about race, representation, and the historical precedents that shape our idea of what it means to be American. “I was thinking about the history behind the photograph and the Black soldiers who returned from the war shortly a...