Artist Robert Shetterly Shares His Wisdom and Expertise With OES

Robert Shetterly, the artist who painted “Americans Who Tell the Truth,” on display in the OES Chapel until May 30, visited the school on May 1 to speak with students, faculty, and staff.

“Americans Who Tell the Truth” aims to harness the power of teaching social justice through the arts and helping students learn to become courageous, engaged citizens. OES is displaying a selection of 20 portraits of individuals who have done work in support of ecojustice. Each portrait has a quote from the respective advocate etched on its surface.

Shetterly visited classes in all three divisions of the school, joined an Upper School Chapel, and led activities, including making justice-focused art with Upper School students and a self-portrait painting class with staff members. He also spoke at an evening Dreaming Justice event in the OES Chapel that was open to the public.

Everyone in the OES community enjoyed engaging with Shetterly, and his work resonated with them in different ways.

First Grade Teacher May Yang said, “One lovely connection that my students made was when Rob brought up his painting of Julia Butterfly Hill, the woman who lived in a tree for two years. The kids in my class instantly connected with Rob's story because we read a story about Julia Butterfly Hill a couple of months ago when we were starting our biography project. The kids in my class remembered so many facts about her and were excited to share what they knew.”

Athena C. ’26 shared, “It was really interesting to hear about his process and inspiration for each piece. I’m so glad I got to meet with him and learn about his incredible activism through artwork.” 

Shetterly himself said about his visit, “I loved being at OES. I was able to meet and talk with the entire range of your students, faculty, and employees. I was especially pleased at how well prepared the students were for my visit. Their questions and thoughtful comments made my time very interesting. I was especially struck by [Head of School The Rev.] Michael Spencer’s class “Encounters,” where the students were exploring issues of deep spiritual significance. I was equally struck by [Upper School Community Engagement Coordinator] Maria McIvor’s class about producing pesto from their own-grown basil [in the OES greenhouse] to raise money for a food bank. That combination of deep thinking with social action is my definition of great education.”

Shetterly was so impressed with McIvor’s Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship class project that he encouraged them to submit their “Pesto for Good” project to the Americans Who Tell the Truth Samantha Smith Challenge. 

McIvor said, “Our class had a deeply impactful visit with Robert and were excited to share our social innovation project with him. We also realized that he painted the portrait of an educator who helped inspire our project, Steve Ritz from the Green Bronx Machine, who uses vertical gardening as a transformational educational tool at his school in the Bronx.”

Reflections from students who viewed the exhibit included:

“It seems like he [the activist] tries to fix all the things wrong with the world.”
“Environmental and social justice are linked.”
“What is the higher priority, climate action or solving poverty, and could there be a solution that solves both of them at once?”

Several staff and faculty who interacted with Shetterly shared their thoughts:

“I was very moved by Rob’s authentic curiosity, keen listening and profound stories of everyday activists. He spent an hour with Upper School students as they crafted their own messages of advocacy, exchanging ideas and making connections. He was genuine in his questions, and refreshingly frank in his responses. The same was true a day later as he guided employees through a portrait-making exercise. I left each encounter with Rob feeling reflective, grateful, and inspired.” 
-Willow McCormick, assistant director for equity & inclusion

“When Robert took us through all of the portraits and explained the people who were behind them, that was incredible. It made me think about more of the things that we should do. I was also impressed when he shared his personal history about being an activist, that he stands up for his values.”
-Gisela Walitzki, executive assistant to Head of School

“Having the opportunity to think about an issue I care about while drawing a self-portrait, I realized I’m not just drawing my face, but capturing my thoughts and values as well.”
-Bonnie Brennan, admissions associate, Middle School

Chelsea Lamb, director of after-school programs, shared: “I attended the Robert Shetterly portrait session, and at first I was nervous to draw myself since I don’t usually engage in art. He put us at ease and asked us to reflect on something that gets us 'fired up' and then add the words to our portrait. Mine was about living a life in service. The process reminded me of a quote often painted by Cortia Kent: ‘I’d like to be able to love my country and still love justice.’ He told me that’s exactly why he started painting these portraits.”