Rob Shetterly
Artist & Activist
Artist & Activist
A conversation on art, truth-telling, and the Americans who spoke up when it mattered
What does it mean to paint the truth?
For over two decades, artist and activist Rob Shetterly has been answering that question — one portrait at a time. His Americans Who Tell the Truth series has grown to more than 220 paintings, each one honoring an American who chose to speak up for civil rights, human rights, or environmental justice, even when the cost was high.
On May 14th at 7:30 PM EST, Shetterly joins Living Legacy Project for a conversation about the intersection of art and accountability — how paint becomes testimony, why these particular people, and what it means to keep bearing witness across twenty years of American life.
For over two decades, artist and activist Rob Shetterly has been answering that question — one portrait at a time. His Americans Who Tell the Truth series has grown to more than 220 paintings, each one honoring an American who chose to speak up for civil rights, human rights, or environmental justice, even when the cost was high.
On May 14th at 7:30 PM EST, Shetterly joins Living Legacy Project for a conversation about the intersection of art and accountability — how paint becomes testimony, why these particular people, and what it means to keep bearing witness across twenty years of American life.
"Telling the truth about the past helps cause justice in the present."
— James W. Loewen
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ABOUT ROBERT SHETTERLY
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Artist, Activist, Witness
Rob Shetterly is a painter and activist based in Maine whose work has spent two decades asking a deceptively simple question: who in America tells the truth, and what does it cost them?
Since 2001, Shetterly has painted more than 220 portraits in his Americans Who Tell the Truth series — a growing collection of Americans who have spoken up for civil rights, human rights, and environmental justice at significant personal risk. The subjects range from Rosa Parks and Vandana Shiva to Howard Zinn and Wangari Maathai. Each portrait travels with a quote and a short biography, and the series visits schools and communities across the country.
Shetterly's work insists that art is not decoration — it is testimony. His paintings function as a kind of public accountability: naming the people history tends to overlook, and insisting that their courage belongs in the record.
He is also the subject of the documentary Truth Tellers, which chronicles his life and the making of the series.
Rob Shetterly is a painter and activist based in Maine whose work has spent two decades asking a deceptively simple question: who in America tells the truth, and what does it cost them?
Since 2001, Shetterly has painted more than 220 portraits in his Americans Who Tell the Truth series — a growing collection of Americans who have spoken up for civil rights, human rights, and environmental justice at significant personal risk. The subjects range from Rosa Parks and Vandana Shiva to Howard Zinn and Wangari Maathai. Each portrait travels with a quote and a short biography, and the series visits schools and communities across the country.
Shetterly's work insists that art is not decoration — it is testimony. His paintings function as a kind of public accountability: naming the people history tends to overlook, and insisting that their courage belongs in the record.
He is also the subject of the documentary Truth Tellers, which chronicles his life and the making of the series.
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EXPLORE SHETTERLY'S WORK
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Go deeper before May 14th
Browse the full portrait series, read about the people it honors, and watch the documentary that tells the story behind the work.
Join us on May 14th. This is a free event, open to all.
A Zoom link will be sent to your email after registering.