Breonna Taylor Covers Vanity Fair’s September Issue — in a Portrait By Amy Sherald

A portrait of Breonna Taylor, by renowned artist Amy Sherald, graces the cover of Vanity Fair’s September issue.

The striking portrait accompanies a cover story, reported by Ta-Nehisi Coates, that examines the life of Taylor through interviews with her mother, Tamika Palmer. That life was tragically cut short, when police executing a no-knock warrant during a drug raid knocked down her apartment door with a battering ram. Taylor’s boyfriend Kenneth Walker, believing intruders were breaking into their home, fired his gun, shooting an officer in the leg. The police returned fire, and Taylor was shot at least eight times. Taylor, an emergency room technician, was dead at 26. No drugs were found in the apartment.

The cover story is an attempt by Palmer to recount the life of her daughter — who was raised and died in Louisville, Kentucky — and fill in the blanks of her death. Photos by Latoya Ruby Frazier accompany the piece. They include a harrowing shot of Kenneth Walker showing off the engagement ring he planned on giving to Taylor.

The cover portrait is the second piece of commissioned work Sherald has painted, according to Vanity Fair. In her first, she famously painted Michelle Obama for the National Portrait Gallery in 2018. The cover is a rarity for the magazine as well: not often, if ever, does Vanity Fair forego photography on its front page.

The September issue, called “The Great Fire” by Vanity Fair, was guest edited by Coates. Read his editor’s letter here.